A Whirlpool Full of Sunshine
by petran
Summary: A collection of oneshots and drabbles that are set in the canon Naruto universe and involve the Uzumaki family. NEW STORY: "Please Forgive Me" - Naruto knows he really stepped on it this time. How could he do this to his own family? (Made for NaruHina Week day 3 "I'm Sorry.")
1. A Difference in Height

**After some carefull thinking, I have decided to follow Serious Sam's suggestion and make a fanfic where I gather all my one-shots concerning Naruto, Hinata and the rest of the Uzumaki family. I am doing this so that people can follow my one-shots more easily.  
**

 **So, this is going to similar to Tenneyshoe's "Sparks" fanfic in that it's going to focus on various aspects and incidents of Naruto and Hinata's relationship. The main difference is that my one-shots are set in the canon manga universe, which includes "The Last" and "Boruto" movies.  
**

 **Expect varying length and quality. The first three chapters are "A difference in height", "A very special day." and "Never Again" which have been previously published on FF Net. So, new one-shots are featured from chapter 4 onwards.**

 **"What Hinata Saw" is NOT going to be part of this, partially because it has expired and partially because it has been discredited by "Konoha Hiden". I intend to take another shot at the concept of Hinata watching Naruto's memories and make it more canon compliant.**

* * *

The young Uzumaki boy watched curiously as his mother once again embraced his father.

It was a scene that played out almost daily, and it never ceased to amuse him. Every day she would hug him once when he was leaving for work and once when he was returning from it. She would then stand on her toes and give her husband a soft kiss on the base of his neck which would cause him to bend down and plant a big one on her lips… Which usually lasted longer when he was returning.

The young boy would usually intervene at that point, commanding some attention from his dotting parents, but not before observing how odd and downright funny the whole thing looked. His father seemed huge, almost gigantic, in comparison to his mother's small petite figure. Her hands could just barely wrap themselves around him and he always seemed to rest his head on top of hers as she held him and rested her head on his chest.

It was a very odd image indeed. His parents looked happy though…

Still, he had to ask…

"Mom, does it bother you that daddy is so much taller than you?"

"Not at all… " replied his dear mother "I am rather thankful for this, in fact."

"Why are you thankful?"

His mom smiled softly as she looked at him.

"Because the way I am now, whenever I hug your father, I can very easily place my ear on his chest and listen to his heart beating."

"And why is it so important for you to listen to his heartbeat?"

His mother took a deep breath.

"Because to your mother, the sound of your father's heartbeat is the most comforting and beautiful sound in the world."

The little Uzumaki snorted as he suppressed a laugh.

"You know mom, you are really weird… But I still love you."

She placed her arms around him and softly placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Mommy loves you too. You finished your breakfast, right?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you go outside and play for a while? Mommy will join you after she does the dishes."

"OK, mom!"

She watched her little boy run outside and picked up his plates. She put them on the sink, turned on the faucet and started scrubbing as discreetly and delicately as she could…

… She didn't want her little boy to watch her crying.

How could she explain this to her five year old son?

She liked her difference in height with her husband, because it made it easier for her to listen her husband's heartbeat. And the sound of his beating heart was something incredibly precious to her, something that comforted her, something that she always longed to hear…

Because a long time ago with her very own eyes, she actually saw it **stop**.

She still remembered that terrible day. The day when the world almost ended. The day when her cousin gave up his life in order to protect them. Those feelings of pain and loss as she saw him draw his final breath…

Then those feelings of helplessness and desperation as she saw the body of the man she loved also lie down nearly lifeless… His heart's beat slowing down until it eventually came to a halt…

She wiped her tears, cleaned her hands and placed her hand on her chest. She closed her eyes and focused on the sound of her own heart beating.

Come to think of it, her heart also stopped beating once…

On the day when she decided to adopt his Nindo as her own, when her husband's words gave her courage and she stood up to her cousin for the first time. When she finally started to believe in herself and change towards becoming a stronger person.

She had nearly died on that day. It was her husband's voice that bought her back… And the warmth of his hand as she held hers for the very first time.

Her soft smile slowly returned to her lips…

She was actually _taller_ than him back then, wasn't she?

She wiped her hands on her apron and turned to look at the young boy that was currently running around playing ninja in the house living room.

She wondered how much taller than her he would eventually grow up to be.


	2. A Very Special Day

**Happy New Year and Happy NaruHina Month everyone! I hope you enjoy reading this one-shot as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

* * *

 _'thoughts'_

"Dialogue"

* * *

"December 6th? What's so special about December 6th?"

That's the question that kept going through his head as he held his girlfriend's hand and walked with her through the snowy forest.

He knew it wasn't her birthday (that was on December 27th) and he knew it wasn't the day they shared their first kiss (that was January the 3rd). It most certainly wasn't his birthday (that was October 10th). And yet, she told him that December 6th was a very special day to her.

So what the heck was it that happened on that day?

Was December the 6th the day when she called him a "Proud Failure"? The day when his heart skipped a bit for the first time and he told her that she was weird... And that he liked her?

No it couldn't have been it. Chuunin exams usually took place in summer and he clearly remembered the heat of the sun on his face as he walked towards the stadium.

So that day wasn't December 6th.

Was it the day she had first professed her love for him?

He had tried to push that day in the back of his memory, but it kept crawling back at him when he least expected it. There were times when he would spend some time with her, enjoying her company, feeling the warmth of her body against his, being the happiest man in the world...

And then the memory of that day would suddenly hit him, reminding him of how he had almost lost her.

He didn't remember the exact date of that day. It didn't really matter to him. But he remembered the pain, he remembered the desperation, he remembered the relief he felt when he found out she was still alive, and he remembered tracking the enemy inside a forest that was in full spring bloom.

So this day wasn't December 6th either.

He squeezed her hand tighter. She smiled at him and blushed…

He always loved it when she did that. He couldn't believe that this wonderful woman that was currently walking by his side was really his girlfriend.

It made him incredibly nervous. This meant he was her _boy_ friend right? And that book that Sai gave him said that a _good_ boyfriend was supposed to always remember all the important dates that define a relationship (birthdays, first kiss, first date etc) without her having to remind him.

So for the past for the past few hours he was trying to figure out what the heck was so special about December 6th. He played back every single memory he had with her trying to work out its significance but he would come up with nothing. Every memory he came up with her would either be in a different season, a different month or a different date. For the life of him, he couldn't remember what happened on December 6th.

Does this mean that he is a bad boyfriend? He would have to apologize to her later.

He turned his eyes towards her and took a closer look at her face. She had a dreamy look in her eyes and a bright warm smile on her lips. The way her cheeks blushed and the snow glittered on her black hair she looked absolutely beautiful...

He wanted to kiss her so bad! But he also wanted to find out what she had in mind for today...

And why it was so special to her.

The young couple walked for a few more minutes going a bit deeper in the snowy forest. Eventually they came across an old worn lonely swing.

"This is the place."

Naruto recognized the swing as the one he had spent a large part of his lonely childhood on. Back when he was the village pariah and wondered why everybody avoided him and refused to even acknowledge his existence…

...Everybody except her… but he didn't find out about this until much later.

He recognized the swing. A lot of lonely painful memories were associated with it. He just didn't understand what December 6th had to do with it.

Hinata took out a package that she was carrying with her up until that moment.

"This is for you."

A large smile formed on his face when she unwrapped the package and saw what she was holding: A really lengthy red scarf.

"So you finally completed it…"

She wrapped the scarf carefully around his neck bringing her face closer to his. He felt a jolt of electricity as her fingers softly touched his skin. They've been together for almost a year now, and he still couldn't get used to the way her touch made him feel.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?"

"It must be the static." he said as his grin grew wider.

"That's odd… I didn't feel anything…"

"Oh _really_?"

He put his arms around her and embraced her. He always enjoyed how she fitted perfectly inside his hug, her face just below his chin, allowing him to fully envelop her and fully feel the warmth of her body against his.

He caressed her hair and softly rubbed her cheeks. He could feel her trembling as his fingers slid on her velvety skin. He lowered his face and bought it closer to hers. For a brief moment their lips rubbed against each other. She felt shivers go down her whole body and she jumped back.

"Do you feel the static _now?"_

She let out a soft chuckle and playfully hit his chest.

"Yes, I do." she quipped "How does it feel? It's not itchy or anything, right?"

Naruto took a moment to fully appreciate the gift that Hinata gave him. It felt warm against his neck, fully insulating him from the cold. The needlework was impeccable and it felt soft and comfortable around him. It was really long too. Despite the fact that his neck was fully covered, a large part of the scarf was still dangling downwards.

A scarf like this must have taken a long time to make. He could practically feel the effort… the sheer depth of the emotions she knitted into it.

"It feels good… More than good in fact… Uhm… thanks!"

Her smile grew even wider as she sighed in relief.

"I am glad… The truth is I kind of rushed it… I really wanted to give this to you today."

Naruto took a deep breath, and braced himself. He hoped that Hinata wouldn't feel offended for not remembering what happened on that day.

"You know I've been meaning to ask you this… Why _today_? What's so special about December 6th?"

Hinata took a step backwards and looked at the snow. Her smile was still there but Naruto could see that she was hiding a lot of pain underneath it.

"December 6th was a really painful day for me. It was a week after my kidnap attempt, and a month after my mother had died. My father took me to the dojo and attempted to train me in the ways of the gentle fist for the first time. I couldn't pick up anything he demonstrated and as a result got pretty beat up. He told me that I was weak and to get out of his sight."

Naruto got up from behind her and placed his arms around her waist in an attempt to comfort her. He had known that Hinata didn't exactly have the happiest of childhoods but he never imagined that it was **this** bad. True, his childhood wasn't sunshine and roses either, he was shunned by the entire village for being the nine-tails jinchuriki, but at least he didn't have to get beaten up and degraded on a daily basis by those who were supposed to love you and protect you.

"As I went back to my room I bumped into Neji. He had a look on his eyes that I had never seen up until that point. It was full of pain, full of hate, full of resentment. And it was directed towards me."

Tears were beginning to flow on her eyes. He wanted to wipe the tears off her face, but he knew that this was one of those moments when Hinata needed to let her feelings out.

"He told me… He told me that I was responsible for his father's death. That I was worthless, that I was a burden and that I should just disappear…"

He could feel her shivering around his arms.

"And so I did… I dressed up and wandered around the snowy woods, wondering if my life had any worth. Wondering if I should go on living. Wondering if the world would be a much better place without me in it. And then it happened…"

"What happened?"

"A bunch of boys saw me wandering alone and they came up to me. They told me that I was a monster because of my eyes. That I didn't belong in this world…"

He held her tighter. It pained him to see her like this.

"That was the straw that broke my back. I just couldn't take it anymore. I broke down and cried. The kids just pointed at me and laughed. A feeling of despair came over me. I felt like I couldn't go on living anymore. And then…"

"Then…?"

"A boy showed up wearing a red scarf. He told them to stop picking on me and he challenged the kids to a fight."

"Did he win?"

"No…" his girlfriend said and she let out a light laugh amidst her tears. "He lost pretty badly. He got knocked down with just one punch. And his red scarf was then taken by the kids and torn to shreds…"

The smile remained on her face as she started to wipe her tears and compose herself. Naruto noticed that it was beginning to get warmer.

"But I really appreciated it, you know? That boy that I hardly knew just showed up and stood up for me, a complete stranger, when everyone, even my own family, put me down. .."

Naruto looked at the expression she had. It was a mix of nostalgia and happiness. Whoever that boy was, he must have made quite an impression on her. She blushed as she talked about him.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy… He thought that _he_ was the only one who ever made her blush like this.

"When he got up, he told me that it didn't matter that his scarf was torn to shreds. He just smiled at me… That smile felt warm and bright like the sun. It made all my problems melt away… My heart skipped a beat and I held his torn scarf tighter as he left… It was the first time I ever fell in love…"

Naruto felt like a chidori went through his chest. He might have been her boyfriend now and he knows he shouldn't feel this way, but the fact that he wasn't Hinata's first love still hurt. He wondered who that boy could be.

"It was the _only_ time I fell in love… His smile… _saved me!_ "

' _Huh_?!'

Hinata turned around and placed her hands on his face. She had a look full of love and longing as she softly touched the spikes on his hair and caressed the whiskers on his cheeks.

"I still remember his face, bright as the sun, and his eyes blue as the sky. That boy's name was… Uzumaki Naruto!"

' _Say what!?'_

Naruto could only stand there dumbfounded.

"M-m-m-me?!"

"Yes, you! Can't you remember?"

A shot of a long-lost memory flashed before his eyes. He _did_ remember that day. But not the way she remembered it…

...He recalled a beautiful girl getting shunned by the kids that also shunned him…

...He recalled seeing the girl in pain and how much it hurt his heart to see her cry…

...He recalled an embarrassing defeat when he challenged the kids…

...He recalled her thanking him as he waved her goodbye...

...He recalled being ashamed of his weakness…

...He recalled crying alone in the dark when he was a safe distance away…

...He recalled vying to himself to become stronger and train… just like he always did..

To Hinata this really seemed like a special day, but to him it was just another day when he messed up and embarrassed himself. No wonder he couldn't recall it before now.

"I think I remember that day too now… I am actually quite ashamed of it."

"Why?"

"I acted like an idiot like I always used to do back in those days. I don't recall 'saving anyone'. I recall getting beat up for biting more than I could chew. I was weak and stupid back then."

Hinata pulled his face and bought it closer to hers. Her expression was stern and serious.

"You weren't weak, and you weren't stupid, _even back then,_ you hear me?"

"Eh?!"

"It takes a huge amount of character and moral courage to stand up for somebody you don't know. To do what's right even when you know you are probably going to get beaten down for it. You might not have had the physical strength or the skills to back it all up, but you still stood up for what you believed was right…."

"But I…"

"No 'buts'. Yes, you got beat up pretty badly back then, but you were still stronger than all those kids _combined_. You had an inner strength and determination that they lacked. You had the power to stand up on your own and keep going whenever you were knocked down… You were a…"

"A 'Proud Failure'?" he inquired.

"Yes!" she told him as her face lit up once more. "And I fell in love with you for it."

She placed her palms on his and looked him in the eyes once more.

"Today is the day when I first met you. And so, I wanted to make you the scarf that you lost on that day, give it back to you and tell you what I couldn't tell you back then."

She took a deep breath and steeled herself. This was clearly something she had practised doing beforehand.

"Thank you for protecting me. Thank you for standing up for me. Your courage inspired me. Your smile _saved_ me. And even after all this time… I am still in love with you. With the person you were back then… and the person you still are now."

A single tear escaped from his eyes as he felt his heart overflow with warmth and joy. He placed his hands on her cheeks and moved his face closer.

His smile at that moment made her heart scream. It was _exactly_ like that smile he had when he first met her, when he saved her. But with his current adult features it became something that captivated her, that drove her senses into overdrive.

"You know… There's something that I _also_ wanted to tell you back on that day…"

"What… did you… want … to tell me?" she whimpered as she felt his warm breath on her lips.

"I don't care what those boys say. Your eyes are _beautiful_."

Their lips connected and she melted into his embrace.

"Thank you…" he said as he deepened their kiss. "For loving me all this time … For caring for me… for not giving up on me… "

Passion overtook them and they both got lost in each other. They both lied down on the snow, ignoring the cold and relishing in each other's warmth. They expressed their love touching and caressing one another without a single care in the world. It was a perfect moment of pure love…

"AA-CHOO!"

…up until Hinata sneezed and clocked Naruto right on the nose.

"Ow, Ow, Ow! That hurt! "

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…"

Naruto couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend's panicked expression. He thought it was incredibly cute. It made his pain go away in an instant.

He straightened his nose and bought his hand on her face once more.

"No, it's my fault. I got so caught up in reminiscing and wanting to kiss you that it didn't occur to me that you might be feeling cold."

A grin formed on his face.

"I have an idea. Here…"

He wrapped the dangling part of her scarf around her neck and bought her face close to his once more.

"Now we are _both_ covered, right?"

He fondled her lips once more.

"Happy Anniversary Hinata…"

"Happy Anniversary Naruto…"

* * *

 **AFTERSTORY: Whatever happened to the bullies?**

* * *

Ichigo, Nimaru and Sansuke took one stroll through the snowy woods for old times sake. They fondly remembered this place as the place where they spent a great part of their childhood. Back in those days, they practically _owned_ the woods. Nobody messed with them, and nobody dared to speak up to them. They were known as "Ichi-Ni-San" the "Trio of Terror".

Back in those days, they were **kings**.

 _These_ days, however, they were simply known as "Those Three Guys". They grew up to be fairly average ninjas, they were enlisted in an average squad that didn't even get to see any action in the 4th Shinobi war, and they got into average missions with low risks after the war ended. They didn't amount to anything great but they weren't exactly unhappy with their lives either.

And they always stuck together. Maybe it was their names, maybe it was their shared misspent youth, but whatever the reason was they always stood by one another through thick and thin.

"Hey, remember the time when we…"

"And how about the time when we…"

"Oh no man, that's not how it went what happened was we…"

And that's about how all the conversations went. They went for beers, they told jokes, they played cards and were generally non-descript random background guys that you wouldn't pay any attention to if you saw them in a shonen manga series. They were the guys that were smart enough to ran screaming in the opposite direction whenever a disaster struck, while the hero jumped into the fray and took care of the mess.

For some reason however, today, on December 6th, they had a sudden urge to go back and play in the snowy woods again. As if a higher power controlled them. They felt the need to go and check out the place just like they used to do back in those days… When nobody messed with them.

Maybe it was fate, maybe it was karma. But as they threw snowballs at each other (because even adult men enjoy a little bit of childishness when nobody is really looking) they noticed a young couple making out while lying downι on the snow. They stood there for a while dumbfounded at that particularly bold public display of affection.

"Look at them, eating each other's faces…"

"Get a room you two…"

"Is she touching his…?"

"Yes, Ichi, yes she is…"

"And is he fondling her…"

"Looks like it San."

A wide grin formed on their collective faces as they nodded at each other.

"Shall we go mess with them?" said Ichi.

"You know, for old times sake?" said Ni.

"I don't see why not." said San

They gathered a couple of snowballs approached the couple stealthily, and when they were at a good distance from them, threw it at them.

The young couple was startled and quickly rose up in order to properly defend from the assault. The blond man had covered the woman with his back, protecting her from the incoming snowballs, while she rubbed his back in order to quickly get the snow off him before his clothes got soaked.

"Hey, what's the big idea here?" said the blond man.

"We are the ones who should be saying that! This is a public park you know. There are other places where you can get frisky with one another. _Somewhere where passing kids might not be watching!_ "

The blond man hunched and looked downwards in embarrassment.

"Err… I guess you are right. Sorry... Me and my girlfriend are going to be on our way. Let's go Hinata."

The girl nodded and held her boyfriend's hand as she stood by his side. It was then that Ichigo took a closer look at her.

"No way!, It can't be! You are…"

"The Byakugan Monster?" wondered Nimaru.

"It's is! It's the Byakugan Monster!"

"I can't believe she has found a boyfriend! And here I thought the Hyuga always bred with themselves."

* * *

The trio started laughing, just like they did back in that time. It didn't take long for Naruto and Hinata to figure out who those three guys were.

Naruto cracked his fists and got ready to give them some well-deserved payback. He was about to throw a punch at one of them when he felt a light tug on his jacket.

"No. Naruto. Please don't."

"But Hinata, they called you a monster, just like they did that time. "

"It's OK. If it weren't for those three guys we wouldn't have met and we wouldn't be together! Think about it!"

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"I understand what you are saying, but I can't just sit idly while those jerks insult you and call you names."

"Look, Naruto, you are an extremely powerful shinobi. If you fight them as you are now, in anger, you might seriously injure them or even kill them. And as lousy as those guys are, I don't think they really deserve that."

"So, I should just leave them be? Let bygones be bygones?"

Hinata looked at her boyfriend sweetly and then activated her Byakugan.

"No, I'm just telling you to let _me_ handle this."

The former "Trio-of-Terror" stood in shock as they saw a very calm and collected Hyuga woman slowly approach them with a warm smile on her face and her fists surrounded by purple lion-shaped chakra.

* * *

 _ **Five minutes later**_

"Hey, Ichi… are we dead?"

The Ichi-Ni-San trio was currently lying on the snow piled up against each other.

"No, but I think we won't be able to move for a while."

"You think somebody will come and pick us up?"

"I don't think so. The Rinne festival is approaching and very few people go through the park on those days. Hopefully, an ANBU will see us and inform the authorities."

They stood there silently for a while.

"She really was a 'Byakugan monster'. Wasn't she?"

"Remind me to never insult a Hyuga again."

"And she has a _boyfriend_?"

"Yeah, apparently that tall blond guy with the whiskers on his face."

"Who do you think that guy was?"

Their memories raced back to the "Byakugan Monster" incident many years ago. Their eyes went wide with the realization.

 **"The squirt with the scarf?"**

"But it can't be! Can it? We knocked him out with one punch back then, didn't we?"

"Wait, didn't he say back then that his name was Uzumaki Naruto? As in 'Hero of the 4th Shinobi War' Uzumaki Naruto?"

"No, way! _That's_ her boyfriend?"

"I don't remember what his name was back then. Was that really him?"

There was a moment of silence.

" _Some_ hero he is, letting his girlfriend fight for him!"

"Yeah! I bet we would have kicked his ass _again_ really good if he was the one we fought!"

"Yeah! Totally!"

' _We would probably be more than just paralyzed if we fought him'_ was the consensus among them, but none of them voiced it… they had to maintain SOME of their pride after all.

"This blows! When do you think the paralysis is going to wear off?"

"I think I can move my arm a little. I am touching something. Is this your hand San?"

"That's my crotch Ichi."

"Oh, sorry…"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So, _let go of it!_ "

* * *

 **December 6th is the day "Naruto: The Last" premiered in cinemas. I wanted to give this date a special significance in the Narutoverse and I came up with this.**

 **I appreciate any feedback and comments.**


	3. Never Again!

**So... NaruHina Month's Day 30 "Never Let Go" is actually the prompt I was mostly looking forward to write. I had this wonderful idea for a fanfic and I just couldn't "let go" of it (pun intended). So I decided to go ahead and write it now 29 days in advance because well... Even though I am supposed to post it on the 30th of January on Tumblr, no such restrictions exist on FanFiction Net.**

 **What's that idea you may ask?**

 **In the Boruto Movie we find out that Hinata got injured trying to get Naruto back from the hands of the movie's villains. We never get to find out how it happened. We just know that it somehow happened.**

 **I believe that Hinata deserved something much more than that, so I decided to write the fanfic of how she got injured myself. AND I decided to tie it up to "The Last" Naruto movie. How? Read more and find out!**

 **Chronologically, this fanfic takes place right after Naruto blocks an enormous attack by the movie's villains, right after Boruto falls unconscious, and right before he wakes up.**

* * *

 _Flashbacks_

Present

'' _Thoughts'_

"Dialogue"

* * *

 **" _I love you Hinata…"_**

 _Those four words reverberate inside you like a siren. It feels as if a bomb has exploded inside your heart. You can't help but gape your mouth open in disbelief._

 _Has he really said those words?_

 _You look at his face for any signs of dishonesty, any signs of doubt. You see none. He really means what he has just said._

 _Is this a dream? Is this reality? **Is this really happening?**_

 _You have waited your entire life for him to say those words. You have spent so many lonely winters craving the warmth of his embrace. Dreaming of him reciprocating your feelings. Of your lips touching his. Of passionate nights under his bed covers._

 _Why did he have to say those words NOW?_

 _You had already made your decision. You were knitting that scarf to finally give it to him and to let your feelings known to him. To let him know that you love him more than just a friend, that you love him as a man and that you had always wanted to be his woman. And then you would tell him your final goodbye and move on to face your fate on the moon, allowing him to live happily with the one he had chosen._

 _You never expected **this…**_

 _You never expected him to love you back…_

 _You never expected him to profess his love to you…_

 _Your mind is a jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions. You don't know what you are supposed to do and how you are supposed to react to this._

' _Maybe I don't have to do this.' you tell yourself. 'Maybe I should tell him of the burden I have received so that we can complete this mission together.'_

 _You want to put your arms around him. To tell him that you love him. To finally give yourself to him._

 _And then you hear a noise in the distance. You feel the water rippling as that man descends and you know that it's too late. That you now have to go face your fate and fulfill your destiny._

 _You can't tell him that you love him, no matter how much you want it._

 _You have to break his heart._

 _You have to let go of him._

* * *

There was a loud explosion.

Hinata instinctively covered Himawari trying to protect her from the incoming shockwave and the flying debris that was coming their way. She felt a sharp pain as a huge gust of dust slammed onto her back. But it wasn't something she couldn't handle. The wave passed them by without incurring any vital damage on any of them.

' _We should have been dead.'_ she thinks. That ball of energy that she saw in the sky was enough to completely destroy not only the stadium but everything within a 20km radius. Konoha should have been completely annihilated.

This could only mean one thing: Naruto must have shielded everyone from the explosion, probably by absorbing a huge brunt of it.

It was the sort of thing he would do. The kind of man he was.

She had to find him! To make sure that he and her son were all right!

She activated her byakugan and surveyed the area around her. She saw a familiar figure in the distance.

"Konohamaru-san! Konohamaru-san!"

"Is that you Hinata-sama?"

"Yes it's me! Have you seen my husband or my son?"

Konohamaru wiped the dust from his face and approached them. He was practically white from all the debris that had accumulated on his uniform.

"Your husband and your son are still towards the center of the stadium fighting those two guys that showed up. It's too dangerous to stay here! You have to immediately evacuate the area!"

"I won't leave my husband and my son alone!"

"Don't be unreasonable, Hinata-sama! You will only make things worse if you interfere!"

Hinata looked at him with a stern expression on her face. Konohamaru was frozen solid. It was the first time he had seen Hinata like this.

"My husband has always believed in my strength. I won't let him down."

Hinata deactivated her byakugan, bent down and faced her daughter.

"Himawari. Mommy is going to go look for daddy and your brother. You stay with uncle Konohamaru and listen to him until I return, OK?"

Himawari let out a weak smile and tried to be brave.

"OK mommy. Please be careful…"

"I promise sweetie."

She activated her byakugan once more and faced the centre of the stadium walking slowly away from Konohamaru and Himawari. She knew that Konohamaru was a good shinobi and that Himawari would be safe with him, but a part of her was worrying if things were really going to going to be OK like this.

She heard a small exchange when she was a few meters away.

"So… uhm… Do you have any idea where we are supposed to go? I can hardly see anything with this dust flying all around the place!"

"My byakugan shows that there is a place full of people to the right of us. I think we should go there."

"You have a byakugan!?"

"I also see some people nearby who seem lost, maybe we should go pick them up too."

"YOU HAVE A BYAKUGAN!?"

Hinata couldn't help but smile. Himawari was small, yes, but she was extremely reliable. She would be fine with Konohamaru. She didn't need to worry.

She started dashing towards the centre of the stadium. She needed to find her son and her husband. To make sure they were all right!

' _Naruto-kun! Boruto! Please be safe!'_

It wasn't long before she eventually tracked them. But what she saw filled her heart with fear: Boruto was lying down unconscious with little Sarada. Sasuke was knocked out of commision too and lied powerless beside them.

A couple of figures were standing above them. The first one was a huge hulk of a man with a red chakra axe in his hand. The second one was an albeit smaller figure, with somewhat effeminate features and horns on his face.

The smaller horned figure was currently holding Naruto by the throat and smiling. Naruto was struggling to move and fight back but even from that distance Hinata could see that his chakra was completely drained, that he was gravely wounded and that Kurama's chakra inside him was severely compromised. He was about as helpless as a kitten.

"The Jinchuriki of the Kyubi is finally ours."

"Momoshiki-sama, what should I do with those people down there?"

"Kill them all, for all I care. We got what we wanted."

"N… No!" whimpered Naruto "Boruto!"

The giant raised his axe and got ready to plunge it downwards towards the blond teenage boy.

"Stay away from my son!"

It was then he received a big chakra-enhanced punch to the face.

It was enough to push him backwards, but it didn't seem to phase him. He looked at the one who just hit him. Her eyes got his attention.

"What is this? _Another_ byakugan user? Does everyone in this burg have a doujutsu of some kind?"

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw his wife stand between his son and the hulk with the axe.

"Please, Hinata… Don't fight them! Take Boruto and Sarada and leave quickly!"

"I won't let them take you!"

"Please! Hinata! Go! They are too powerful!"

The horned man could only scoff at this.

"We don't have time for this emotional sappy crap. Kinshiki, kill her quickly. Then we can finally get out of this filthy dump."

"As you command Momoshiki-sama."

He took a swing with his axe, aiming to take her head off. Hinata could barely avoid it. Despite his big size the man she now came to know as Kinshiki was extremely agile.

She jumped back and took a fighting stance as she got ready to take the offence. Her fists glowed blue with lion-shaped chakra.

"Gentle Step! Eight Trigrams! 64-Lion Fists!"

She charged at the hulk with the speed and agility that only the Hyuga were known for. With every ounce of her strength she unleashed a flurry of chakra-draining punches at him. It was the strongest move in her arsenal, one that she had managed to develop during the 4th Shinobi War, when she was trying to protect Naruto from a series of giant human shaped Juubi clones. It was a move that managed to topple even those giants, absolutely destroying them with only a few series of punches…

...And it _still_ wasn't enough to affect the man in front of her. He had somehow managed to block every single one of her strikes using his axe and his fist. Her "Twin-Lion Fists" were more of a mild nuisance to him rather than a serious threat.

Eventually he deactivated his chakra-axe and used his right hand to catch her hand while it was still in the middle of a strike, bringing her barrage to an abrupt stop.

Hinata could only barely brace herself for the incoming punch.

She felt her ribs crack as his fist connected with her chest. She gracelessly tumbled across the arena ground like a rag doll. The hit was so powerful that it felt as if a building was dropped on top of her.

She struggled to get up and face her opponent but her body just wouldn't listen to her. Her chakra was almost completely used up and every movement she made was met with pangs of extreme pain. It hurt to even breathe.

"Hmph! Weak!" said Kinshiki "Hardly worthy of my time."

Momoshiki started summoning a portal as he held Naruto on his back.

"Now then, I guess it's time for us to go."

Hinata could only weep in pain.

"No... Give him back… Give Naruto back!"

* * *

" _Give Hinata back!"_

 _You can hear the desperation in his voice._

 _You can see the pain of your betrayal in his eyes._

 _It makes your heart bleed._

" _Give her back?" that man gloats at him "Hinata came to me of her own free will."_

" _Is this true?" you hear him cry "Please Hinata! Tell me this isn't true!"_

 _You want to scream that it's not true. That you still love him with all your heart. You want to push that man aside and jump into his arms._

 _But you can't. If you do, everything will be for nothing._

 _You can't bring yourself to face him again. You feel your resolve wavering and you know that if you look into his eyes again, you will fall completely apart._ _You won't be able to deny him._

 _You won't be able to let go of him._

 _You can't face him, and you can't talk to him. As things stand, you can only look away and hide inside that man's embrace._

 _Like a **coward**._

 _That's when the reality hits him. That you are leaving him for the man that is standing beside you. That you belong to someone else now. That you are not coming back to him._

 _You can practically feel his heart break into a million pieces. And even though you can't see it, you know that he is crying. Mourning for the love he lost. The love he finally realized that he had for you._

 _What sort of "love" did_ _ **you**_ _have for him, that allowed you to abandon him so easily?_

 _You "loved him", and yet you hurt him more than any of his enemies ever could. What sort of person are you?_

' _A person with a mission.' you tell yourself, trying to make some of the pain go away 'A mission to stop the world from ending.'_

 _No matter how much it hurts you have to move forward. You have to complete your task, or everything, including the man you love, will be laid to waste. You can't let your emotions get the best of you._

" _YOU BASTARD!" you hear him cry as he jumps and unleashes one final attack on the man that is currently holding you. His facial expression is one of anger mixed with despair. Of pure heartbreak and murdered dreams._

 _ **You**_ _did this to him. Nobody else._

 _The hand of the man holding you glows green and unleashes a green orb. You see it hit the man you love, completely absorbing his chakra and rendering him completely powerless._

 _There is a loud explosion. It engulfs him and consumes him. The scarf you knitted for him is now burning, turning into dust. Like his broken heart._

" _What are you doing?" you ask the man. You didn't mean for this to happen. You didn't want him to get hurt so badly._

" _I don't want to get into pointless fights and risk you getting hurt."_

 _A green orb glows in front of you and you can feel yourself drifting to sleep. No matter how much you want to change things, it's too late for that now._

 _Just before you lose consciousness, you catch one final glimpse of the man whose heart you irrevocably destroyed._

 _You see him falling into the void. His normally lively eyes are now completely devoid of any spark, of any hope, of any will to live._

 _ **You**_ _did this to him._

 _ **You**_ _were the one who denied him._

 _ **You**_ _were the one who abandoned him._

 _ **You**_ _were the one who broke his heart._

 _ **You**_ _were the one who took away his will to live._

 _ **You**_ _were the one who ultimately got him killed._

 _ **You**_ _were the one who let go of him._

 _And it will haunt you for the rest of your life._

* * *

"Never again!"

Like an oath, like a mantra, those words kept echoing inside of her.

"No! I will never let this happen again!"

Chakra started flowing inside her. She could fill her ribs mending and her aching joints healing. What sort of power was this?

 **"Never again!"** she cried out in desperation. " **I will never let go! Never Again!"**

She felt her head pulsing and a sharp pain shot through her eyes. It felt as if she was being stabbed in the eye-sockets with a million sharp needles.

She cried out in pain as the aching became unbearable. What was happening to her?

A million images flashed before her in a matter of seconds. Of her childhood watching over Naruto. Of her teenage years when she fought alongside him. Eventually the memories focused on a single moment during the 4th Shinobi War.

"I can see it in your eyes. You are strong." he told her back then.

His words reverberated inside her, filling her with strength and determination.

"I can see it in your eyes…"

"In your eyes…"

" **Your eyes!"**

"You are strong."

"Are strong."

" **Are strong!"**

She felt one last strong pulse of pain as Naruto's phrase became something else entirely.

" **Your eyes are strong!"**

The pain was gone now. She opened up her eyes once more.

She could see everything clearly. It was as if her byakugan's vision had its blind spot removed and its range was doubled.

There were no veins bulging on her head and there was no chakra loss from using them. This was another type of eye entirely.

She took a look at herself. She was surrounded by Greenish Chakra.

But this couldn't be! Her chakra was normally blue, and Hamura's chakra was normally purple. The only time she saw _anybody_ use this sort of chakra was on the moon, when Naruto fought Toneri with his fully maturated…

... _Tenseigan_ …

...Oh…

She had heard of stories of the Uchiha clan awakening various phases of their Sharingan eyes through extreme emotional or physical pain. She recalled Himawari awakening her own byakugan through mere _anger_ after having her beloved panda doll destroyed. Maybe the pain and desperation she felt combined with Hamura's chakra allowed her to awaken her own version of the Tenseigan?

Whatever the cause of this was, she didn't have time to sit down and contemplate it. The portal was almost completely formed and those two powerful beings were getting ready to leave with her husband. What mattered was that she now had a fighting chance against them.

She rushed at them at supersonic speed. She couldn't let them take him. She _**wouldn't**_ let them take him.

They didn't even see her coming.

She started hitting the both of them in all directions. Momoshiki and Kinshiki could barely block her hits. This wasn't a normal Hyuga they were fighting. This was something else entirely. The destructive power and speed suggested that…

"It can't be! Is she an Otsutsuki too?"

"Looks like it. A descendant of Hamura to be exact."

"I never thought I'd ever see the Tenseigan in action again."

Hinata could feel the power flowing inside her. On one hand it felt incredible, on the other hand she had to be extremely careful. The last time she saw the Tenseigan in action, the moon was split in half. If she overused that power she risked getting Naruto, Boruto, Sasuke and Sarada seriously hurt. To say nothing of the innocent civilians that would get injured as collateral.

So no explosions and no truth-seeking orbs. She would have to fight them up close.

She dashed towards Kinshiki and unleashed another flurry of punches at him. She smiled as she saw that it was effective this time. The giant could no longer block her and he kept getting hit by her barrage. He began to falter.

She could win this! She could beat them and save both her son and her husband!

Her punch took the form of a giant green lion as she swooped in to land the finishing blow on the giant...

...And then she stopped...

...Her entire body was completely immobilized...

...What was wrong?

She looked downwards and saw that her shadow was connected to Momoshiki's.

"I _knew_ that I was right to save that shadow-bind jutsu I got from that man earlier. Now is your chance to hit her Kinshiki!"

Momoshiki's shadow was retracted just before Kinshiki's punch connected with her.

She slammed onto the ground falling right beside her son. The force of the punch was enough to make all of her power go away and her Tenseigan revert back into a Byakugan.

She briefly recalled Naruto's fight with Toneri. It took Naruto one punch to take him down back then too, didn't it? If her situation wasn't so dire she would laugh at the fact that she got defeated in a similar way to the man who had tried to claim her heart many years ago.

 _'That's the Tenseigan for you.'_ she contemplated _'Extremely powerful and destructive but ultimately unreliable.'_

Momoshiki grinned evilly as he saw the Byakugan Princess fall down powerless to the ground, stripped of her power.

"I think I might want to save some of that shadow-bind jutsu for later. It's very convenient."

"Momoshiki-sama, the portal is about to start closing, we should get moving."

Just before they entered the portal Kinshiki turned toward Hinata's direction.

"You know, it's not everyday when I get to meet a direct descendant of Hamura. We are practically family. It's almost a waste killing you."

He raised his hand and released a black orb of energy that slowly headed towards her.

"Almost."

She tried to move out of the way of the orb, but all her powers had abandoned her. She could only move herself closer to her son. To stand next to him in their final moment.

Naruto could only watch in terror as the orb slithered closer to his son and his wife.

This couldn't be happening! The woman he loved, the one who gave him her love unconditionally. The woman who held his hand and brought him back from the darkness. The woman who soothed his pain with her voice and her body. Who healed his heart. Who gave birth to his children.

The baby he held is his arms! The kid he watched take its first steps into the world. The sweet child who threw snowballs at him in the winter. The bratty teenager who craved for his father's attention.

His wife, his son, his family! All about to be gone in an instant! He had to move! He had to protect them! What was the point of being the Hokage if he couldn't protect the people who were the most important to him?

He tried moving, he tried shaking, but alas his body was completely limp. He was completely immobilized. At this point, he could only scream.

"SASUKE! WAKE UP! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD PROTECT EVERYONE! SO FOR KAMI'S SAKE WAKE UP! PROTECT THEM!"

The orb was now only a few meters away. Hinata held her son's hand tightly and braced herself for the end.

Darkness enveloped her.

* * *

 _Darkness envelops you._

 _And you know that_ _ **you have**_ _**failed**_ _._

 _In the end, it was all for nothing. All your efforts, all your heartbreak, all your sacrifices. Everything… for nothing..._

 _You did your best, you were so close to destroying the superweapon that was moving the moon towards the earth. But that man recovered and caught you red-handed, before you even had a chance to land a hit on it._

 _You tried pleading with him, telling him that it was wrong to destroy an entire world because of his ancestor's misguided teachings._

 _Your words fell on deaf ears. He said that he would make sure you would never betray him again._

 _You feel the accursed chakra of the orb he shoved inside of you spread throughout your body, slowly turning you into a puppet._ _ **His**_ _puppet. Your body now fully belongs to him._

 _Your only solace is that you probably won't be conscious when his plan comes into fruition and the entire world you fought for, the people you love, all disappear in a hail of destructive meteoric rain…_

 _...That you probably won't be conscious when he makes you his wife._

 _Will he have the decency to at least wake you up when he straddles you on the wedding bed? For some reason you doubt it. This is a man that didn't have any moral misgivings about taking out your teenage sister's eyes and using them for his own purposes._

 _But then again, he might want to wake you up, just to see you suffer. To have your spirit broken as you see everything you cared about turned to waste and then having his way with you._

 _The mere thought of that man kissing you and having any sort of intimate contact with you is enough to make you nauseous. You'd throw up if you still had control of your bodily functions. But right now, you are nothing more than his bride. His_ _puppet_ _. You can only stand and obey as that jutsu fully takes control of your body._

 _You can't help but scold yourself. Going off on your own like this. Whatever made you think that this would be a good idea? You should have told_ _ **him**_ _of your burden. You should have at least informed your commanding officer. Surely he could come up with a much better plan than this?_

 _It's too late for that now. What's done is done and you can't do anything about it._

 _You feel the orb's chakra reach your neck. It won't be long until the jutsu fully takes control of you._

 _A single tear escapes your eye._

 _Your final thoughts right before you relinquish the last of your free will are about_ _ **him.**_

 _The man you loved._

 _The man you denied._

 _The man whose heart you irrevocably destroyed._

 _The man_ _ **that you let go.**_

 _You wonder if he is still alive… And if he will ever find it in his heart to forgive you._

' _Naruto-Kun …'_

* * *

"Naruto-Kun..."

Hinata opened her eyes to see Sakura standing over her infusing chakra inside her in an effort to keep her alive.

"Ssshh!" the medic told her "Keep your strength. You need to fully rest to heal."

"What happened?"

"Sasuke woke up just in time to cover everyone with his Kamui. The attack just passed through and exploded without affecting anybody."

"Is my son all right?"

"He is currently lying unconscious in a nearby bed. He is not physically hurt. He will be fine."

"I am glad. What about my husband?"

Sakura's face turned solemn as she got ready to deliver the bad news.

"He was taken. Sasuke couldn't get at him in time."

Tears flowed down Hinata's cheeks as she realised that her husband was taken to another dimension, probably never to return. The man she loved was now gone.

"I have failed him Sakura. I couldn't get him back. I let go of him!"

Sakura bought her face close to her and looked her in the eye. Her face was stern and serious. She was struggling to keep herself from crying.

"You didn't fail anyone! You didn't let go of your husband! You fought tooth and nail for him! And it's because you intervened that my husband and my daughter are still alive!"

Sakura could no longer stop the tears. She put her face on Hinata's chest and started crying.

" _Thank you_ Hinata! From the bottom of my heart… _Thank you!_ "

 _"_ _ **Your husband is still alive."**_

Sakura and Hinata turned their face to look at Sasuke who had just entered the room.

"I can still sense his chakra. This means that wherever he is, he is alive. And because you fought those two guys and stalled their departure, I know in which dimension they are now located."

"You hear this Hinata?" cried Sakura as she wiped the tears off her face and smiled warmly at her patient. "Your husband is alive, and we are going to get him back!"

"I am glad." said Hinata as she drifted back into unconsciousness "I am happy!"

Sasuke looked at the woman whose intervention saved him a few hours back. She seemed extremely small and weak as she was sleeping. He couldn't believe that such a petite body could withstand so much.

But then again the same thing could be said about the woman that was currently healing her.

He smiled at his wife who softly smiled back.

"That dumbass has married a truly extra-ordinary woman, huh, Sakura?"

"You have no idea how extra-ordinary."

"Well then, I am going to go meet the kages in order to come up with a plan to bring back that 'Usuratonkachi'."

Sakura caressed Hinata's forehead and took a handkerchief in order to wipe the tears off Hinata's face.

"You didn't let go of him, you hear? You didn't let go. You hear me Hinata?"

* * *

 _"Hinata?"_

 _"Yes, Naruto?"_

" _Back in the academy, when they asked us who we would like to spend our final day on earth with, I couldn't write anything down. I didn't know my parents and I didn't have any friends. But now I know who I would choose... There's no doubt whatsoever. It' s you! I want to stay with you. For ever and ever, until I die. I want to be with you, Hinata."_

 _You can't help the tears that start flowing down your face. You never believed he would ever forgive you. You never believed that his love for you would stay strong after all the pain you caused him._

 _But he has forgiven you. He told you he understood why you did what you had to do. He told you that_ _ **he**_ _was the one who should apologize to you. For making you wait so long, for not realizing what you felt about him sooner. He held your burned scarf in his hands and told you that he would forever cherish it. Your feelings have finally reached him. You have managed to complete your mission together and now you are heading back to start your life together._

 _As you jump down the portal that connects the moon and the earth you see visions of him and you as teenagers, then as kids. You see those visions holding hands and running together, smiling, laughing. You have loved him for so long, longed for him for so long. And now you finally find out that he loves you back. That he has always loved you back. And that you can finally be with him._

 _The last boulder that you jumped on collapses and he starts carrying you in his arms. Happiness and joy fill your heart. You feel as if, even if your life where to end here, even if that portal collapsed before you managed to return to earth you would be happy. Because you would be with him, resting inside his warm embrace._

 _But he has other plans. He brings you even closer to him._

" _What are you doing?"_

" _Ready? Hold on tight."_

 _You place your arms around him and put you face on his chest. You hear the sound of his beating heart. It's the most beautiful thing you have ever heard._

" _Now don't let go, all right?"_

 _You close your eyes and smile. As images of yourselves start floating around you, you make this oath to yourself._

' _I will never let go.'_

 _His technique thrusts you both out of the portal and into the night sky. As both of you are floating in the air, right before you begin descending back to earth, he reaches out for you and takes your hand once more._

 _You look at each other's eyes. For a brief moment time stops, gravity stops._

 _As he brings his face closer to yours and you melt into his arms, you repeat that oath once more inside your head... and inside your heart..._

' _I will never abandon you. I will never deny you. I will never leave you alone. I will never let go…'_

 _You seal that oath with your first kiss and add..._

 **'** _ **...Never again.'** _


	4. At winter's end

**Ever since writing the English version of Hinata's character song, I always wanted to write a story which involves Naruto listening to Hinata perform it. NaruHina month's Day 8 - "Karaoke" was the perfect excuse to finally do it!**

 **How can Hinata's character song exist canonically within the Naruto Universe, you may ask? Read more to find out!**

 **I am using the English version of the song that I co-wrote with MellorineGirl17, and that she so spectacularly performed because… shameless self-promotion!**

 **(You can find a link to it in my profile if you are interested in listening to it)**

 **Speaking of MellorineGirl17, her Tumblr account is called "themagicgeekdom" Why don't you head there and show her some love after you are done with this.**

 **The afterstory was inspired by a short strip that hinaxnaru of tumblr drew... Though admittedly I took a very different approach from what she probably had in mind.**

* * *

"Dialogue"

 _ **"Lyrics"**_

 _'Thoughts'_

* * *

Nobody remembers how Karaoke got started in Konoha…

Presumably it had something to do with a guy who once had a band. Part of his schtick was to invite people on stage to sing songs they knew. Eventually he thought that instead of using a band, he could just record the song once and allow people to come on stage and sing along. He then devised a way to show the lyrics on a screen in sync with the music, so that the people who got on stage wouldn't fumble their lines…

...Nobody remembers who that guy was… what was the name of his band… or where those karaoke machines first premiered…

What everybody knew was that once Karaoke got started in Konoha, it spread like _wildfire_.

* * *

Suddenly Karaoke bars were showing up all over the place and every bar or inn in Konoha that was worth its salt was required to get one of those accursed machines for a fun night every once a week.

It was just the right idea at the right time. With the world finally at peace, and young ninjas no longer ripping each other's throats out, people started exchanging cultures and ideas. Songs were being played on the radio, pop singers, and stars were being born…

...And young people everywhere just begged for an opportunity to embarrassingly start singing their favourite tunes in public… preferably after downing a considerable amount of alcohol before hand.

We meet our beloved heroes in one of those newly built Karaoke bars in Konoha.

"Stop hogging the mike Ino-pig!"

"You will have to take it from my cold dead hands, forehead-girl!"

Remember what was said before about ninjas not ripping each other's throats out any more?

Err...You can disregard that part.

"Come'on it's my turn to sing!"

"Uh uh! Your voice is like a cat choking on its own fur."

"Better than yours! It sounds like a dog being stepped over by a cart!"

Naruto and Hinata were looking at the two girls arguing with one another.

Ino and Sakura's friendship was a sight to behold indeed. On one hand the two of them supported and gave strength to each other. They knew each other's strength and weaknesses. They collaborated perfectly both in field and in Konoha's newly formed children's hospital. But on the other hand they tended to get into heated arguments every five minutes.

Naruto looked at Hinata and nodded. It was time to get between the two women before things escalated and got out of hand. He got up and moved towards his former team-mate and her vitriolic best friend.

"Girls! Girls! Settle down! Why don't you two just sing a duet?"

The two girls just glared at him.

"What sort of song am I supposed to sing with her? 'The bitch is back'?"

"How about 'Loser'?" chirped in the blonde kunoichi "You can take the lead in that one."

 _"What did you say Ino-pig?"_

Sakura's fist clenched. Naruto realised he had to de-escalate the situation _fast_.

"Uh… How about we have Hinata have a go at the Karaoke machine?"

"Na… Naruto?!" whelped the indigo-haired kunoichi "I agreed to come here today on the explicit condition that I _wouldn't_ sing."

Naruto bent over near her and whispered in her ear.

"Come on,Hinata, take one for the team! You know what happens when those two get into a fight and I can't afford to pay through the nose to repair _another_ demolished bar."

Hinata looked at Naruto and then at the two women who were getting ready to smash each other's faces in.

"Can… Can I have the microphone please? I changed my mind… I think I want to sing."

Sakura gave Ino a knowing look and waved her hand in the air in a way that only her would understand...

 _..._ Their plan had worked.

Ever since Naruto and Hinata became a couple they had taken it upon themselves to make the blonde idiot understand what a great catch Hinata was. They wanted him to see aspects of Hinata's personality that he didn't know she had and that she wasn't likely to show him otherwise.

Just the other day, for example, they invited them to help out at the children's hospital, because they needed a few extra hands to help out with setting up the "Spring Festival". They wanted to show Naruto how good Hinata was with children…

...It worked like a charm! Naruto even told Hinata that he thought she would make a great mother…

...She was blushing for three days straight afterwards.

The plan today was to get Hinata to sing in front of Naruto. To finally get her to overcome her bashfulness and showcase her vocal talents to him. And hopefully make Naruto fall in love with her even deeper.

"That's brilliant!" the pinkette said as she grinned at her friend. "Come on Hinata! Take the center stage!"

"You can do it!" said the blonde kunoichi as she handed her the microphone and shoved her near the karaoke box.

"Uhm… What should I sing?"

"How about that song you used to sing us about Naruto?" said Sakura "You know 'At Winter's End'? It's number 17 on the song catalogue!"

Naruto froze as he heard Ino's words come out of her mouth.

"Hi… Hinata… used to sing a song about... me?"

Ino put her arms around the blonde ninja and grinned.

"Oh yeah! Back then, before you two were a couple, Hinata heard a song on the radio and it struck a chord with her. She used to hum it whenever she felt her feelings weren't being requited. Which was _a lot_ of the time."

Naruto looked at his girlfriend as she bashfully fidgeted in front of him.

"Re-really?"

Hinata looked away in embarrassment.

"Y...Yeah…"

"Can I… Can I listen to it?"

He put his arms around her and looked at her with that pleading look.

"Please?"

 _'Don't look at me like that, please! I can't resist you when you look at me like this!'_

"O...Okay…" she eventually said in a defeated tone.

Hinata stood on the stage and steeled herself as Sakura pressed the buttons on the "song selection box".

"Go Hinata! The stage is all yours!" shouted the pink-haired kunoichi. "Show your boyfriend what you've got!"

Soft music echoed all around the tone of the song seemed happy but it had a tinge of sadness in its melody. Hinata took a deep breath and brought the microphone closer. She closed her eyes as she got ready to sing the first verse.

 _ **"My mind still recalls that day**_

 _ **as the snow dances in the night sky**_

 _ **and it begins to fall**_

 _ **covering everything again"**_

Naruto was mesmerized. Hinata's voice felt soft and light, almost angelic to his ears…

...He really wished he had heard her sing earlier!

 _ **"You were never looking back,**_

 _ **always something being in your way**_

 _ **And it always seemed to me like,**_

 _ **you'd go somewhere far away."**_

It was at this point that Naruto noticed that the words Hinata was singing about were quite different from what was being shown on the karaoke screen. What Hinata was singing was not the normal version of the song. The words that she was singing right now didn't come from the screen. They came from somewhere else… somewhere deeper.

 _ **"And no matter what I do**_

 _ **My feelings don't seem to get through to you**_

 _ **You don't even seem**_

 _ **to notice that they're there…"**_

Was she talking about him? Was she talking about their relationship before the moon mission?

He always liked her, and she was very important to him. And apparently he was important to her too. But he never noticed that she loved him in a romantic sort of way. He always thought she loved him as a friend, as a precious comrade. It took him getting trapped in an optical illusion and experiencing what she felt about him directly to finally figure out that she loved him as a man.

 _ **"I have longed for you,**_

 _ **For, oh, so many nights.**_

 _ **and so many lonely winters**_

 _ **seem to pass by through my sights.**_

 _ **I lost track of counting them all.**_

 _ **It's unrequitable**_

 _ **and unfufillable,**_

 _ **but loving you is something**_

 _ **I just can't bring myself to end.**_

 _ **And though it hurts me so**_

 _ **My heart will still stay warm**_

 _ **within the cold snow."**_

Her voice was now unmistakenly sad as she recounted the many years he had stayed oblivious to her love. Has he really caused her so much pain? And yet, despite all that, she couldn't bring herself to stop loving him, the man who never noticed her feelings and her sorrow.

The song now reached a short instrumental break. Hinata couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. She was afraid to look at Naruto's expression. She was afraid he would laugh at the song she had made for him or that it would make him feel uncomfortable. So she opted to still close her eyes and move into the the next verse.

She took one more deep breath.

 _ **"Looking through your bright blue eyes,**_

 _ **I see all are important to you**_

 _ **It makes me wonder if**_

 _ **I'm just as important to you too."**_

Her voice was trying sound cheerful, but Naruto could feel the underlying bitterness as she sang that verse. She really thought that she never was anything special to him.

' _How wrong you are! You_ _ **were**_ _special to me back them. You were the one person who believed in me and gave me strength…'_

He felt a pang of guilt as he realised…

 _'...But we didn't interact a lot back then, didn't we? There were times when I hardly paid attention to you. No wonder you ended up believing that you weren't important to me.'_

 _ **"If that's how you truly feel,**_

 _ **If that brings you happiness inside.**_

 _ **I'll simply smile and send you off**_

 _ **casting my feeling far aside."**_

 _'You have endured this all this time. You put on a warm smile and supported me while I was off doing whatever it was I was doing. You never cared about yourself. You just wanted me to achieve my dreams. To be happy.'_

 _ **"And I know that you let go,**_

 _ **the memory when we met so long ago**_

 _ **but for me it's still**_

 _ **so special in my heart"**_

 _ **"I remember then, time and time again**_

 _ **and my mind goes back to that one moment**_

 _ **when our eyes first met.**_

 _ **In my heart that memory I'll keep."**_

Naruto could feel the passion as she sang this, he voice hitting the notes and holding strong in all the right places. She literally poured her heart inside that performance.

She had recently reminded him of the "bully incident" when they first met a long time ago. While for her it was a really special day, the day when she fell in love with him, for Naruto it was simply a day like any other. He tried to act tough, he embarrassed himself and cried himself to sleep alone like he always used to do back then.

Naruto, mentally slapped himself. How could he forget? Why didn't he cherish that day the way she did until now?

 _ **"I am fairly sure,**_

 _ **I'll never love again,**_

 _ **I will never feel this kind of love**_

 _ **for someone else like then**_

 _ **I'm thinking as I gaze,**_

 _ **at the silvery cover,**_

 _ **blessing those days."**_

The song moved into another lengthy instrumental break. Leaving Naruto to gaze softly at the figure of Hinata who still had her eyes closed.

He felt Sakura's arms on his back. She swayed him softly to the rhythm of the music and screamed in his ear.

"See who you've been neglecting up until now?"

And she was right. He let this wonderful creature alone and hurt all those years. He never payed her the attention she deserved.

And _despite all that_ , her love for him never wavered. She never lost her faith in him, she never got back on her word…

...she never looked for love anywhere else…

...she was waiting for him…

...and _he had left her waiting_ …

...for so long…

The song moved into a still and Hinata started singing the next verse softly.

 _ **"I have longed for you,**_

 _ **For, oh, so many nights.**_

 _ **and so many lonely winters**_

 _ **seem to pass by through my sights.**_

 _ **I lost track of counting them all."**_

Suddenly the song moved into a crescendo and the Hinata's voice became even more loud and passionate.

 _ **"It's unrequitable**_

 _ **and unfufillable,**_

 _ **Still I keep telling myself I'm happy**_

 _ **with how things have been,**_

 _ **but I know I'm telling myself lies."**_

He voice was now beginning to crack as her emotions started getting the best of her.

Naruto felt a big painful throb in his heart.

 _He_ did this to her. He made her think she wasn't important to him and she tried to put on a brave face and smile while he went around on her merry way. She tried to be happy for him. To tell herself that she would be happy if only he was happy.

But she wasn't, she was miserable. She was only lying to herself. She wanted to be with him, as something more than just a friend… and she thought she was being _selfish_ for feeling this way.

 _'You weren't selfish. You are the more selfless person I know…"_

 _ **"My feelings I must send,**_

 _ **I'll tell you once again,**_

 _ **even if my love won't reach you,**_

 _ **I'll try until the very end."**_

 _ **"Until I make it through,**_

 _ **I muster all of my strength**_

 _ **exclaim this one truth…**_

 _ **That now and always, I've been in love with you."**_

The song moved into a close and Hinata whispered a soft _**"I'm still in love with you"**_ into the microphone.

She couldn't bring herself to look at anything. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes.

She actually did it. She really sang the song she had made for him in front of him.

What would he think? Would he think she was weird? That she was creepy?

Would he think the song was awful?

She felt his arms wrap softly around her as if she was the most precious person in his world. As if she was about to break…

...and in a manner of speaking she was.

"You have a lovely voice Hinata." he softly whispered to her ear.

"This song's lyrics that you just sang... They were different from what was shown on the screen. This isn't the normal version of the song, is it? It's a version of the song you wrote... for me... isn't it?"

"Yes." she confessed to him.

"I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry I hurt you so badly. For making you wait for so long. Please forgive me…"

"Naruto-k…"

She felt his lips on her and her mind went blank.

All the pain she had felt until now, all the heartbreak… It was all worth it, because she was finally with him…

The microphone fell on the floor.

Nobody picked it up.

* * *

Ino and Sakura looked at the couple for a few seconds before pumping their fists together.

"Nailed it!"

"Yep! If I have to say that today's mission was a rousing success."

"Naruto's love points just increased by a factor of ten at least."

They looked at couple a little more. Eventually Sakura looked back at Ino.

"How are things with Sai?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Well, he is still as socially awkward as ever. He still has problems opening up. And he manages to say the most embarrassing things when I am out with him in public."

"You miss him, don't you?"

"Like crazy! He's been on a mission with Shikamaru for two weeks and I can hardly stand it! I just want to see him _smile_ again!"

Ino looked at her pink-haired friend. She could see that she was happy for them… But she could also see that a lot of pain still resided in her heart.

"I am sure he will return to Konoha one of those days."

"Yeah…"

There was no doubt **who** was the person that she was referring to.

"If he doesn't I swear I will travel to the ends of the earth, beat the crap out of him and drag him back to you!"

Sakura couldn't help but let out a short chuckle at Ino's declaration.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing! It's just… Hinata told me the exact same thing just a few days ago."

Ino couldn't help but stare at the girl who was currently making out with the blonde in front of them.

" _She_ did? _Hinata?_ "

"Yeah."

Ino stood there dumbfounded.

"Wow. I never thought she had it in her to say something like this. Naruto must be rubbing off on her."

"I guess…"

There was an awkward silence.

"So… shall we pick up the mike and sing something? This _is_ a Karaoke bar after all."

"Nah… After Hinata's performance I think it would be anti-climactic."

Ino nodded.

"I agree… So... what now? I am not really in the mood to just sit down and watch those two dorks swap spit for the next hour."

"How about we leave those two lovebirds alone and head to that bar down the street to celebrate the success of our 'mission'?"

The two kunoichi smiled at each other.

"Sounds like a plan." said the blonde haired one as she grabbed her bag and headed for the exit door.

"On the way out, we will tell the manager, that the couple inside is not to be disturbed until they head out..."

A grinch-like smirk formed on the pinkette's face.

"...and that **they're** paying."

The blonde Kunoichi smirked back.

"You are **evil**!"

* * *

 **Afterstory:** No matter what day it is

* * *

 _Two weeks later_

Hinata rubbed her neck as she went inside Konoha's "Aum Gate" along with Kiba, Shino and Akamaru.

It wasn't a tough mission, but it had been a long and tiring one. And as much as she enjoyed her team-mates' company, right now all she wanted was to head home, have a good bath, relax...

...and make some arrangements to see Naruto tomorrow.

She wasn't planning to meet him today, and she most definitely _wasn't_ expecting to see him on the way to the Hokage's office.

But here he was…. standing in front of her… holding a microphone...

...along with four shadow clones…

...One of which was holding a boom-box… and another mike.

"OK, guys! Let's do this!"

The clone with the boom-box pushed the "Play" button, left the boom-box on the ground and run besides the original Naruto with his mike.

An upbeat tune started playing and the three shadow clones who weren't holding the microphone got in front, striking a pose right before they started moving in synch to the music.

Team 8 could only stand there and look. What the _hell_ was Naruto doing?

The original Naruto took a deep breath and started yelling at the mike.

 _ **"It is In the expansive scenery before me,  
I saw only what was facing me.  
That there is truth hiding on the backs of things,  
I never noticed, and overlooked."**_

Kiba looked at Shino who was about as weirded out at the whole spectacle as he was.

Was Naruto really serenading Hinata in the middle of the street?

 _In public?_

With a shadow-clone providing the backup vocals?

 _ **"Getting lost, and taking the long way,  
It's not a smooth road, but  
If I turn around, I know you are beside me,  
watching over me,  
Kindness overflowing."**_

Why, yes… yes he was…

The song became more upbeat and Naruto's voice became louder. His voice wasn't completely in sync, he missed a few notes here and there, but they could see that he was putting his heart into it.

 _ **"No matter what day it is, no matter what time it is,  
I'll never give up on what I'm aiming for.  
If you laugh, then with just that,  
It will always give me strength."**_

Are they really watching this? Are they really watching the shadow clones break-dance?

Isn't Hinata weirded out by all of this?

 _ **"Like the flowers coloring the treetops in two colors,  
Let's start answering our feelings.  
Even the days I look back on,  
Not a single one is the same.  
They build upon one another.  
I now understand the meaning of warmth."**_

A crowd is starting to gather all around in order to see what the hell is going on.

 _'This is so embarrassing.'_ thought Kiba.

 _ **"No matter what day it is, no matter what time it is,  
The bright sunshine raining down upon is  
Smiling with us and accompanying us.  
These days that I want to protect,  
The place where are roads meet, from here on out,"**_

The three shadow clones started somersaulting around the singing Naruto duo throwing confetti all around them.

Shino adjusted his glasses and rubbed his temples in shame.

If anybody asked he would _vehemently_ deny ever knowing the blonde ninja in front of him. And he would kill anyone who suggested otherwise…

...with bugs brutally ripping out their insides.

 _ **"Let's walk together,  
And start today.**_

The original Naruto came close to Hinata and started holding her hand and looked her in her eyes as he kept on singing.

Her face was red like a tomato. But she couldn't help but smile.

 _ **Understanding one another,  
Believing in one another,  
We'll take these bonds, and drive them deep into our hearts!"**_

He let her hand go and went back to the background to sing the song's climax.

 _ **"No matter what day it is, no matter what time it is,  
I won't give up on the dream I'm aiming for.  
If you just laugh, than with just that,  
It gives me strength.**_

 _ **We might fail,  
But we won't bend,  
No matter what, we'll do what it takes.  
Even when there is a shadow on our hearts,  
Now that we're together,  
From this point where our roads meet,  
We'll walk together,  
And start today."**_

The song ended and the shadow-clones popped out of existence. The original Naruto stroke a pose, and picked up the microphone that his clone dropped.

Team 8 could only stand there and look in disbelief.

"Naruto-kun…" was the only thing Hinata could utter at this point.

Her boyfriend smiled goofily and rubbed the back of his head.

"I… uh… was really touched by your song at the Karaoke just the other day… the song that you wrote for me… And so I thought I should write a song for you too, to answer you, and to tell you how I feel about you."

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO PERFORM _IN PUBLIC_ YOU IDIOT!" yelled Kiba. "CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW EMBARRASSED POOR HINATA IS FEELING RIGHT NOW?"

"I am sorry…" the blonde said as he lovingly gazed into her eyes "I just couldn't wait to share this with you…"

 _'There's no way.'_ thought Kiba. _'There's no way she will just accept this. The song was cheesy, the performance was corny and there is about a hundred people standing here shaking their heads. There no way she will…'_

"Oh! Naruto-kun!"

She jumped into Naruto's arms and started planting kisses on his lips and his whiskers, not caring about the dirt and the grime that had accumulated on her during the mission or the sweat that he had on his face after performing the song. Not caring that about a hundred people were watching.

"I _loved it_! Thank you! I love you!"

It was at this point that Akamaru thoughtfully licked his owner's hand and barked thoughtfully at the couple.

"No, Akamaru, they are not in 'heat season'… Well… OK… In a way _they are_ … but it doesn't work this way for them. They can be in heat _all year long_ , you see..."

Akamaru just put his paws on his head and bent downwards rubbing his nose on the ground.

"No… I don't know how they can stand it either."

He turned his attention to his other team-mate.

"You think she _really_ liked the song Shino?"

"If I have to observe the answer is an obvious 'yes'. Why? Because her tongue is currently inside his mouth and her pheromone levels…"

"ENOUGH! No need to be so descriptive! Geez!"

Akamaru started growling.

"Not yet Akamaru. Lets leave them like this for a couple more minutes... **Then** we'll throw a bucket of cold water over them."

* * *

 **So, if you didn't get it, Hinata took the tune of a radio song and adjusted the lyrics in order to fit her situation with Naruto... Hence the existence of "Fuyu No Owari Ni" in the canon Naruto Universe.**

 **Hinata claiming that she will bring Sasuke back might sound out of character, but it's actually a nod to the "Sasuke Shinden" novel wherein she is part of the Sasuke Retrieval Team and** ** _actually fights alongside Naruto!_** **Hopefully somebody will translate it soon.**

 **I had originally planned for Naruto to directly sing his own character song during Karaoke Night. The problem was that Naruto's character song "Izu No Hi Ni Mo" is a direct answer to "Fuyu No Owari Ni" and I couldn't find a believable way for this to happen. So I decided to write an afterstory based on it instead.**

 **I took the English lyrics to "Izu No Hi Ni Mo" from mrsstampede from Tumblr.**

 **Will I be making an English cover for "Izu No Hi Ni Mo", Naruto's character song in the future? If I find a decent instrumental and a decent performer, then yes. I am still trying write an English cover for "Star Vessel", but I just can't seem to find the time to do it properly these days.**


	5. It only took an illusion

**(Made for NaruHina Month Day 10: Honeymoon)**

 **Note: This was supposed to be a side chapter for my "Konoha Hiden – The Wedding" fanfic. But in the end I got side-tracked and didn't finish the wedding chapter of the fanfic. Nevertheless I am including the relevant scene as a flashback, and you don't really need to have read "Konoha Hiden – The Wedding"to enjoy it.**

 **You might have noticed that the rating of the fanfic is now M... There is some adult stuff here, and though I try not to be too explicit I am raising the rating just in case.**

* * *

"Dialogue"

 _Flashbacks_

 _'Thoughts'_

* * *

Naruto and Hinata held each other's hand and lovingly smiled at one another as the cart carried them from the wedding reception to the onsen where they were going to spend their honeymoon.

It had been a **long** day...

The wedding ceremony and the wedding reception had its ups and downs but in the end everything went smoothly.

All their friends, all the important people in their lives were there to support them…

...All those people, all those characters gathered around them, talked to them, cheered for them, prayed for their happiness. Not only from Konoha, but also, Suna, Iwa, Kiri...

...had they really touched the lives of so many? Both Naruto and Hinata couldn't believe it.

And nearly everyone who was there added a little story, a little spice, a little something, that made the story of their marriage special, _something_ that they would never forget.

It was all very… episodic... to say to the least.

But that's a story for another day.

The wedding cart stopped and they both looked at the onsen that Shikamaru had booked for them for their honeymoon. It wasn't something extravagant, but it was a quiet place with a nice and relaxing atmosphere and it was very near Konoha which meant that it didn't take long for the wedding cart to take them there.

Naruto and Hinata were _especially_ thankful for the last part. After a wedding reception like this, the only thing they wanted right now was to just clean themselves, relax and finally spend some 'quality time' with each other . They weren't in the mood to travel for hours inside a bumping horse carriage.

They nearly sprinted from the wedding cart into the onsen and headed straight to the reception to get their keys.

The onsen's owner smiled as they signed their names…

...He then took the newlywed couple by the side and told them that some special "arrangements" were made. They would have the bathing facilities just to themselves for the rest of the evening. When Naruto asked who made those arrangements, the owner just grinned and told him that he was not allowed to say.

Naruto was baffled...Shikamaru really wasn't the type of guy who would arrange something like this. He would consider it "too troublesome". Who could have possibly done this?

Perhaps later, when they both opened up their gifts, and examined Shikamaru's closer, they would find some clues. Now was not the time to ponder this.

The couple left their luggage in their room, took their clothes off, put on their robes and headed toward the onsen's bathing facilities. After they had a separate shower, as per the establishment's rules they headed inside the hot springs and allowed themselves to relax.

The owner had told them the truth. Nobody else was coming inside. They were alone, free to enjoy each other in whatever way they pleased.

Still, they both thought that it wouldn't be such a good idea to do something overly bold. Naruto had enough experience "infiltrating" such establishments while perfecting his "Sexy Jutsu" and while he was training with Jiraya. Hinata on the other hand had a considerable experience fending off such infiltrations both in public onsens and within the Hyuga household. They both knew that being alone in an open-air onsen didn't necessarily mean they weren't being _watched_.

So instead they opted to just relax and softly cuddle each other. Hinata nested her back on Naruto's chest allowing him to rest his chin on top of her head. Naruto smiled as he pondered how perfectly Hinata's body fitted into his.

Hinata internally screamed as she felt a certain _appendage_ of Naruto's rub against her buttocks and actively resisted the urge to just turn around and jump him then and there. During the year they were together, she had grown more comfortable around him and opened up a lot more. The timid girl that used to faint around him was gone and a confident woman was starting to take her place. She began taking the initiative more frequently and Naruto was often shocked at how bold and expressive his previously shy girlfriend could be in private.

But now was not the time to be bold. Now was the time to relax, appreciate each other's company and just let the day's troubles and fatigue melt away inside the hot-spring bath...

...and to address something else…

"Naruto…"

"Yeah?"

"Remember what Iruka-sensei said at the wedding reception?"

* * *

 _Tears were beginning to well up in Iruka's eyes as he saw his students hold each other's arms. He remembered the small bratty kid he used to teach, the one he initially resented but ended up becoming so close to his heart. The one that ended up calling him a father._

 _He also remembered the little shy girl who quietly watched and cared for him from the sidelines. The one who believed in him before everybody else. Before even… him. The little girl who…_

 _"You know, I just remembered a funny story. A really long time ago, I asked Naruto's class a question: if the world were to end tomorrow, who would you like to spend your final day on earth with?"_

 _"You know, Iruka-sensei, I've been meaning to ask you this. What WAS the purpose of that question? Why would you ask a bunch of kids something like that?"_

 _Iruka's face turned stern and serious._

 _"A shinobi's life can be short and treacherous Naruto. You know that. The purpose of the question is to determine where the kids can stay and to make proper arrangements in case of an emergency or if something happens to their parents."_

 _"Oh…"_

 _"Anyway, back then, you didn't answer the question. You just turned your answer sheet into a paper plane and threw it out of the window. In hindsight now I know why you didn't want to answer: You were an orphan and you didn't have any friends."_

 _"Yeah…" said Naruto as he scratched the back of his head. "I remember this happened during the time when you still hated my guts."_

 _Iruka scratched his head back in shame._

 _"Well… I wouldn't call it 'hate your guts' exactly. A more accurate description would be 'still had some misconceptions about you'. Anyway, I understand why you didn't answer the question and I let it slide."_

 _Iruka started getting sentimental again as he recalled collecting the answer sheets and reading what the rest of the students wrote on them._

 _"But that girl standing beside you... she DID answer. And she put YOUR name on it! That girl… she has loved you since then!"_

 _Hinata's eyes widened as Iruka confided this bit of information. That incident occurred a long time ago, and she had almost forgotten all about it. As far as she was concerned it was ancient history, the information shared by the students was confidential and there was no way Naruto was ever going to find out that she had written his name down on that answer sheet._

 _But what shocked her more was Naruto's reaction. Quite plainly, there were no hints of surprise on his face. There was a warm smile and a nod of acknowledgement as if he…_

 _...he already knew!_

 _"I AM SO HAPPY THE TWO OF YOU FOUND EACH OTHER!"_

 _Her train of thought was interrupted by an overly emotional Iruka who had just opened the floodgates and embraced them both in an overly wet hug._

* * *

"When Iruka-sensei told you about me writing your name on the 'who would you like to spend your final day on earth with' question… You didn't seem surprised…"

Hinata turned her head around to face her husband.

His face had suddenly grown dark. She could see she was on to something.

"Did you... already know?"

Naruto, could only sigh in exasperation and embarrassment. Hinata really could read him like an open book.

"So… you figured it out…"

"But how? The answers were confidential and **I** never told you anything about it."

Naruto steeled himself. This was a conversation he should have had with her a long time ago.

"Remember the moon mission?"

"Yeah…"

"At some point we were trapped in some sort of genjutsu. Something that trapped us into our own memories. Sai saw that thing where he was with his brother…"

"I remember that…"

"And I saw my time at the academy, and the chuunin exams."

"Mm-hm. Go on."

"But then something happened, I don't know _what_ exactly, and I began experiencing your memories. I saw you talking to Sakura about love, I saw your struggles in trying to get through to me, and I saw you putting my name on the answer sheet."

"You… you did?"

"Yeah…"

"And… why didn't you tell me until now?"

Naruto turned his face away. He couldn't bring himself to face her.

"Because _I was ashamed_ that I figured out you loved me like this…"

"What… What do you mean?"

"All this time I was trying to gain everyone's acknowledgement and I was blind to the one person who had loved me and believed in me. The **one** person who acknowledged me for who I was."

"Naruto-kun…"

"You were always looking after me and I kept being blind. You always supported me and I kept being blind. Heck, you straight up told me that you loved me while facing certain death and **I. kept. being. blind!** It took me experiencing your memories directly to finally open my eyes and realise how you felt about me."

"Please, Naruto-kun, don't…"

"I am really pathetic, aren't I? All those years, all this time we have lost. It took a lousy genjutsu to pull my head out of my ass and see what was in front of me the whole time. I really don't deserve to have someone like y..."

He froze when he felt Hinata's lips on his.

"Please! **Naruto!** Stop!"

She had dropped the honorific. She wasn't addressing "Naruto-kun" anymore, she was addressing her husband.

"Please don't be so hard on yourself…"

"But Hinata…"

"I also have a confession to make…"

"A confession?"

Naruto looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Remember when I was trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"

How could he forget? The day when the world almost ended. He felt her chakra presence completely disappear as she got absorbed inside the World Tree. He almost run off to save her, before Sasuke stopped him. It was one of the scariest experiences of his life.

"What about the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"

"I never told you… What I saw while I was inside it, did I?"

"What did you see?"

He saw Hinata's face take a painful expression.

"I saw the world at peace. I saw Neji alive. I saw the animosity between the main and the branch family completely disappear. I saw the Caged Bird Seal abolished and…"

"And…?"

"I saw **us**! **Together**! You were in love with me and we were a couple. We went on dates, you were holding my hand, we looked at the starry sky. And we…"

"Kissed?"

"Y-Yeah…" Hinata admitted.

Naruto didn't know if he should be jealous or not. Hinata's first kiss was with an illusion. It was an illusion of _him_ , of course, but still…

"And… what does this have to do with everything?"

This time it was Hinata's turn to turn her face away.

"Before the infinite tsukuyomi I still loved you. But I kept telling myself that I was content with how things were. That if only you were happy, then I would be happy. I was content with being selfless and watching you from the sidelines, only stepping in to help when I saw that you really needed me…"

She clenched her fists and splashed her hands into the water. She had to get this out of her system. To come out completely clean like Naruto did.

"After the Infinite Tsukuyomi, I realised that I couldn't remain selfless. That I wanted you to be happy **with me**. That I didn't want you to be with someone else. I realised that I wasn't content with just standing by your side and walking next to you holding your hand. I wanted to be something more to you, I wanted to be your wife and your lover. After the Infinite Tsukuyomi I realised… _I had been lying to myself all this time._ "

She trembled as she went on.

"If you are pathetic for not realizing I loved you until you got trapped in a Genjutsu then I am doubly so. Because it took me getting trapped in an illusion to make me realize how badly I wanted to be with you. To finally start facing my feelings for you directly. I guess what I am trying to say that **I am** the one that truly doesn't deser..."

She fell silent as she felt his arms wrap around her and he pushed her face close to her chest. He started rocking her up and down caressing her and kissing her, like she was the most precious thing in the world.

"Sssh… don't say that. Don't **ever** tell yourself that…"

Hinata just closed her eyes and relaxed once more inside her husband's embrace. Naruto most certainly had… a way with physical communication. He could make her feel better and lift her spirits up without even uttering a word.

As he held her and kissed her, she could tell. He didn't judge her, he didn't reject her. He just accepted her. He just…

...loved her…

"We are **both** pretty hopeless, aren't we?" he said with a soft chuckle.

"Yeah…" she chuckled back.

"You know…" he softly whispered as he gently caressed her back "I have once wondered if my feelings for you were the result of that illusion I saw back then. If I was somehow 'manipulated' into loving you."

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed his chin against her forehead.

"But then I thought 'what it was that I actually _saw_ in that illusion?'. At the end of the day the only thing that the illusion made me do was to make me _reflect_. It just showed me scenes of our mutual past. It made me stop endlessly moving forward for just a few minutes and it made me look back long enough to see who was standing beside me and supported me the whole time."

He bought her face closer to his and gave a soft kiss on the lips before continuing.

"When I saw you write my name on that paper and just smiled, I remembered the way my father silently supported my mother when they were kids and then it just **hit** me… I wasn't just somebody was was important to you. You didn't just love me as a friend. _You loved me the same way that my father loved my mother._ "

He rubbed his lips against hers softly, breathing in her scent, and absorbing her soft womanly features.

"And when the illusion ended and I just looked at you, when I was talking to you while were walking around in that ancient city, I finally **got it**. All this time, _I loved you in the same way that my mother loved my father._ "

The kiss was now deep, more bold, more erotic. She responded in kind, rubbing her body against him and clenching her legs around his waist.

"The genjutsu didn't make do anything… I already was in love with you…It just helped me figure out what kind of love it actually was."

They continued making out like this for a few minutes, letting their bodies do the rest of the talking.

 _"I have longed for you… I craved you… for so long..."_ her body told him.

 _"So have I…"_ his body answered back. _"So have I…"_

There were no words.

They eventually stopped before things got out of hand. They were both at their limit and they really didn't wish to just take each other in an open-air hot-spring where people could hear them (or silently watch them for that matter).

"Shall we continue in our room upstairs?" he suggested.

"Yeah, let's…" was the only thing she could say as she gasped for air.

They both got out of the hot-spring and put their robes on, dashing towards their room as fast as they could. They had lost so much time… They had a lot of catching up to do.

"So…" Naruto said jokingly as he pinned her down on their bed and started to untie her robe's sash "which one of us is a better kisser? Me, or the 'Naruto' you kissed in that illusion?"

"I don't know…" she told him in a playful voice "Why don't you kiss me again to help me figure it out?"

Naruto happily obliged.

As his lips softly pulled hers down, as his tongue twirled first inside her mouth, then around her neck and then moved further downwards, Hinata briefly contemplated her time within the infinite tsukuyomi.

All her problems were solved there, all her deepest wishes were true. But she wouldn't change what she had now for **anything** in the world.

His lips reached that sweet spot right next to her scar that Naruto knew drove her wild, and all thoughts of that alternative reality were washed away from her mind in a torrent of pleasure.

"Y-you!" she gasped at him "M-most definitely you!"

She briefly saw him grin right before he moved his head right between her legs.

"Good answer! I guess I will give you your reward now..."

'Yeees!' she mentally screamed right before she began losing all sense of restraint and reason...

"This… is… so… **real!"**

* * *

 **BONUS SCENE**

* * *

Naruto and Hinata were currently lying next to each other, basking in the afterglow of the first time they made love as husband and wife. Hinata rested her head against Naruto's chest and gently closed her eyes as she listened to Naruto's beating heart.

She has a big smile on her face, as if this was the most precious sound in the world.

It was the most beautiful thing Naruto had ever seen.

Suddenly, a thought passed through his head. He really needed to know this.

"You know, Hinata, I've been meaning to ask you, what did you see when you were trapped in that genjutsu?"

Hinata softly made her fingers "walk" against his belly, sending short jolts of electricity to Naruto's body. She gently smiled and turned her face upwards to look Naruto in the eye.

"I saw bits and pieces of our childhood together. I saw our first meeting back then at the forest. I saw the pain and loneliness that you faced as a child. I saw what the word 'love' meant to you…"

She climbed on top of him and bent down to whisper in his ear.

"And I saw how much you actually cared for me."

"Really?"

"Really. When I saw you crying during the Pein invasion, after you had confirmed I was alive, I just wanted to run up to you and give you a big hug."

"You actually saw, _that_?!"

"Yep!"

She gently kissed his lips once more.

"Thank you…For caring for me… For cherishing me..."

She started planting gentle kisses across his chest as she got ready for another round…

"Say… Hinata… You didn't see anything **weird** in my memories, did you?"

"Like what?"

"NOTHING! Nothing! It's not important!"

He surrendered to his wife's charms once more and he mentally exhaled in relief.

He was **really** glad Hinata didn't get to see how exactly she helped him perfect his "Sexy No Jutsu".

* * *

 **SIDE STORY: The one who made the arrangement**

* * *

Four days ago…

Shikamaru felt himself relax as he dipped his body inside the hot-spring. He carefully evaluated the onsen that he was currently in, in order to determine if it was really the best one for the occasion.

All in all, it was a good establishment. The staff was hospitable and friendly, the food was good and plentiful, the rooms were big and comfortable, and it was affordable enough for him to pay without going bankrupt.

The only problem was the hot-spring. The onsen had the men and the women going to the bath on separate times, with certain days of the week being "Mixed Bath Days." He didn't quite know if this was conducive to a nice and romantic honeymoon.

He needed to ask his "partner" about it.

"So, what do you think, Temari?"

He turned to face her as she was standing on the other side of the onsen. He couldn't see her clearly at that distance, with the steam fogging up the place, but he could hear her loud and clear.

Temari arched her back felt the day's fatigue melt away in the water.

"Well, I like it. It has a certain charm."

"I am a bit worried about the hot-spring situation. I think the bathing situation leaves a lot to be desired. It's not the most romantic of arrangements. Naruto and Hinata will most likely want some 'private time' with each other."

"Uhm… About that… I already got it covered…"

"Covered? How?"

He couldn't see Temari's face, but he could feel her smiling… In the same way that his mother used to smile…

Scary!

"The owner of the onsen told me that if I give them about 1.000 ryo he can make some arrangements so that Naruto and Hinata can be alone in the hot-spring. So I gave him 2.000 ryo in order to arrange for them to have their first night here alone together."

"That was very thoughtful of you. So, I guess this will be your 'wedding present',right?"

"Yep! I've done all I could for the couple."

Temari and Shikamaru leaned their bodies float in the water.

There was a comfortable silence. The one that only the two of them knew how to share.

It had occurred to Shikamaru that it was the first time he was alone with the Suna Kunoichi like this.

"From the bottom of my heart Temari, thank you for doing this."

"Well, I sort of felt bad for trying to blow you around town over a simple misunderstanding."

"AND for causing thousand of Ryo in property damage. It's a good thing Kakashi helped me cover this up."

"Well, what's done is now done. I felt bad, I apologized, let it go."

"Fair enough."

There was another moment of silence. For some reason Shikamaru felt the need to break it.

"You know it's hard for me to believe that Naruto is getting married before me."

"Why is it so hard for you to believe it?"

"I never told you this but I never aspired to be a hero or a leader. What I always wanted was to be an average shinobi, have an average life, marry an average wife and then have a couple of kids, first a boy, then a girl. I would then retire and play shogi with them until I died… preferably before my wife."

He heard an odd noise in the distance.

Was Temari actually _giggling_?

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that… I never thought you were the sort of guy who would want to settle down early. I always thought that you wanted to be a great general or something like that."

"Well, it's the first time I mention this to anyone."

Shikamaru heard a splash in the distance. Temari was probably moving… closer?!

"You seem to be in talking mood today. It's not like you at all."

"It's probably because we are in the hot-spring." said Shikamaru as a big smile formed on his lips "Chouji once told me that people's souls open up in a bath-house, just like oysters in the steam."

He heard Temari giggling once more. He thought it was… cute?

"Your _unskinny_ friend seems to have a thing for food metaphors."

Shikamaru's smile grew wider. Temari was familiar enough with him and his team to not refer to Chouji with the "F-word".

"Well, he is an Akamichi. Food is sort of their thing… But I wouldn't have him any other way."

Temari grew quiet. Disturbingly quiet.

"So… have you found this 'average' girl you wish to marry?"

"Well, I haven't actually started looking. But something that is painfully obvious to me now is that the so-called 'average person' doesn't exist. Every individual, no matter how weak and insignificant they seem, has something that makes them unique. So there is no point in looking for an 'average girl'. "

There was no response from Temari. She was probably expecting him to keep talking.

"No, what I should look for is somebody with whom I can easily communicate and cooperate."

There was another moment of silence, but this time it felt more… tense.

"Shikamaru… what do you think of me… as your partner?"

Shikamaru thought long and hard. He felt like he owed Temari a decent answer.

"Well we work great together, and we can read each other quite well on the field. We can hold a decent conversation and we cover each other's weaknesses. I'd say you are an excellent partner."

"So… the woman you are looking for is somebody like… me?"

Shikamaru didn't like where this was going. He figured he had to change the subject.

"Uhm… Temari… you never told me. What is your dream in life?"

"My dream? I wish to change the shinobi world."

'With you' was the part she didn't say.

"Change it? In what way?"

"I guess… I want people to stop being treated like weapons. I want to stop things like what happened to my little brother Gaara from ever happening again."

"You sound like the sort of person who wishes for 'world peace'."

"Well… I want that too…"

"That's a very noble dream."

It was at this point that Shikamaru started noticing that something very weird was going on. It was supposed to be a mixed bath day and yet nobody else had entered the hot-springs yet. Still… he decided to continue the conversation.

"Tell you what. Naruto's wedding is definitely a step in the right direction."

"In what way?"

"It's the first time ever an ancient clan like the Hyuga allows anybody to marry outside their clan. For them to actually allow the daughter of clan's leader to actually marry someone who is not a Hyuga is a big breakthrough for them. It means that they are starting to let go of the backwards traditions that hold them back. They start to consider the individuals of their clan as _people_ rather than disposable pawns."

"Now that I think about it myself, this really is a big deal."

"Indeed, people being allowed to marry outside of their respective clans means that the villages no longer feel the need to preserve the purity of their precious blood-limits. The way things are going you will soon see marriages between villages happening, mark my words."

He felt Temari's tone change as she addressed him again. It sounded… soft?

"Shikamaru… Do you really think marriages between villages… can actually happen?"

"Not only I think that they can happen, I think that it's **essential** that they happen. It will mean that the Hidden villages are finally working and cooperating together to achieve peace and prosperity, that the value of an individual to them is something much more than the clan or the blood-limit he was born into."

"Yes" he concluded "If the shinobi world is to effectively change, marriages between villages **need** to happen."

The two of them fell silent once more. Temari's figure was clouded but Shikamaru could see that she was reflecting on their conversation.

 _'How come nobody else has entered the hot-springs? It's been over an hour since we went inside and it's supposed to be open now. Surely someone would have walked in on us by now.'_

It was then that Shikamaru noticed a glaring detail he missed before when talking to Temari.

 _'Wait a minute! Temari said that for 1.000 Ryo the owner of the onsen could arrange some "private time" for couples. Temari said that she paid 2.000 Ryo for Naruto and Hinata's first night, which means that she paid for…"_

He never got to finish that thought.

A blonde projectile was launched at him catching him completely by surprise.

There was a loud splash.

He looked upwards to see a very flustered and very _naked_ Temari staring down at him.

"Shikamaru of the Nara clan, shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village of Konoha, will you aid me Temari of the Kazekage clan, kunoichi of the Hidden Sand Village of Suna in changing the shinobi world?"

The greatest living strategic mind of Konoha did a careful analysis and quickly realised that everything was lost. Outside help wasn't going to arrive and he was completely trapped with no possible route of escape in sight. His only option was to surrender…

...willingly and unconditionally…

"Yes." he simply said.

* * *

 **Yes, ShikaTema is my second OTP. I was hesitant to write a fic about them because frankly I don't know how to handle those two in a romantic sort of way. I hope you still enjoyed the side-story.**

 **A lot of people don't seem to have picked up on the fact that since Iruka-Sensei was the one asking the "End of the World" question in "The Last", he was also the one who collected and read the answer sheets and probably knew how Hinata felt about Naruto back then.**

 **The effect of the Infinite Tsukuyomi on somebody's psyche is not something that has been explored enough in fan-fiction and I wanted to write something about how it personally affected Hinata. The way I see it, her love for Naruto before she got trapped was selfless, but after seeing herself with Naruto within the illusion, she realised that she was lying to herself and that she wanted to be something more to Naruto than just someone who supports him.**

 **The "Bonus Scenes" is a direct reference to my "What Hinata Saw" fanfic. I will probably rewrite it at some point since Konoha Hiden disproved it, but you can consider the fact that Naruto practiced his "Sexy No Jutsu" and drew inspiration from Hinata for it canon.**

 **OK, enough talk, see you next prompt!**


	6. Puppet

**Well... Not much to say here other than the fact that this was made for the "Nightmares" prompt... and that it get pretty dark at places.**

 **I hope you still enjoy it!**

* * *

"Dialogue"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Dreams/Flashbacks_

* * *

 _She lies in front of the man who took everything from her. The same man who took her sister's eyes. The same man who is about to cause the moon to crash into the Earth…_

 _...The same man who killed the man she loved..._

 _She was once a human being. She once loved, she once moved, she once reacted._

 _Now, she is nothing but a puppet. She belongs to him, her will is not her own._

 _If she could react she would have screamed, she would have punched, she would have clawed his eyes out of his eye-sockets._

 _But her will is not her own._

 _"Come to me, my Hinata"_

 _He calls her 'my Hinata', as if she is nothing but a prize. Nothing but an object._

 _"Show yourself to me."_

 _Her mind is screaming for her to stop, to resist his orders._

 _But her will is not her own._

 _Not anymore…_

 _She slowly undresses herself in front of him, unzipping the top of her mission gear._

 _"Beautiful! My Hinata is so beautiful!"_

 _He reaches his hand out and softly caresses her bosom._

 _When she was touched by the man she loved, even if it was just a simple handshake she felt so incredible. It sent bolts down her spine and made her hair stand on end. It felt wonderful, it felt exhilarating._

 _ **This** man's touch makes her nauseous. She can't stand the mere thought of being near him, and now he is touching her in a place that no other man has ever touched her before…_

 _...not even the man she loved…_

 _She wants to scream, she wants to cry…_

 _But she can't..._

 _Right now she is nothing but a puppet…_

* * *

 **"No! Stay away!"**

Hinata screamed as she lurched up from her bed covered in cold sweat.

Where was she?

She quickly surveyed her surroundings and was relieved to find out that she was still within the Hyuga Compound. She lied back on the bed relieved that it was all a dream.

She dashed inside the bathroom, took her clothes off, and stepped in the shower.

She had to clean herself.

How long has it been since the Moon Mission? A month? A month and a half?

Hinata couldn't tell… Her mind was not lucid.

She scrubbed herself as hard as she could, until her normally porcelain white skin turned red. She didn't know why, she couldn't understand why, but she felt like every inch of her body was sullied.

At first the joy and elation of having her love requited, of finally getting together with Naruto was enough to keep her mind at ease. But when he went on a mission and she had to stay away from him for about two weeks, that painful memory hit her again: Of her lying down in the darkness…

...knowing that she had failed her mission…

...knowing that the world, everything and everyone she cared about, would be destroyed because she failed.

...knowing that the man she loved died heartbroken thinking she had betrayed him.

...knowing that she would soon become nothing more than an object, no better than the rest of the puppets that took care of Toneri's castle.

...knowing that she would soon make her body his and that she would have no other choice but to obey him.

She didn't know at the time that Naruto was alive, that he had forgiven her and that he was coming for her. All she knew was that she had failed, that everything was lost and that her body no longer belonged to her.

She had become Toneri's puppet. For a time, her body belonged to him. Her will was violated and she was forced to obey his every command, his every whim.

She didn't know what he did to her while she was under the influence of the puppet jutsu. She was completely in the dark while he held the reigns. She didn't remember anything that happened from the time that he took control of her to the time that she woke up in Naruto's arms…

...and that made things **worse** …

...because her own mind was beginning to fill in the blanks…

...and it was coming up with some pretty nasty stuff.

She knew that at some point her mission gear was removed and replaced with a black wedding dress but she had no idea _how_ it happened. She had no idea if it was Toneri himself or his puppets that undressed her and put it on her. All she remembered was waking up in it right after the jutsu was dispelled.

She scrubbed herself even harder. Her skin had started to turn raw.

She had nearly forgiven that man. She had even invited him to come back to Earth with them.

 _'Oh god!'_

She felt like throwing up.

She dashed inside the toilet, quickly opened the lid and retched inside. She was feeling physically sick.

 _'Damn!'_ she told herself.

This was the **fifth** time so far. This was getting seriously out of hand.

She stood up, looked in the mirror and splashed some water on her face to wake herself up and wash off the leftover bile that was beginning to crust on her lips. She brushed her teeth and started making herself presentable again.

Naruto came back from his mission yesterday. She had a date with him to look forward to.

Yeah, this would make _everything_ go away.

* * *

She had been looking forward to this for the past two weeks. This would be their second date, ever since their first one at Ichiraku's. Naruto would take her to see a visiting Performance Troupe from Suna. They had set up stage in one of Konoha's parks and would only stay there for three days before moving to Kiri and then Iwa. It was the first time Naruto would see something like this and Hinata could see that he was really excited.

Naruto bought a candy apple for Hinata while he bought her floss candy. It was the first time he had eaten something like this.

"This tastes like… raw sugar?"

"Well, it _only_ contains raw sugar, so that is to be expected."

"Hey Hinata! Watch this!"

He took some of the floss candy and stuck it around his cheeks in order to make it look like a beard.

"The proper way to master kung-fu is to drink tea, kick ass, and eat your vegetables."

Hinata couldn't help but laugh.

"That's (haha) the _worst_ 'Kung-Fu Master' impersonation I have ever seen!"

Naruto couldn't help but pout.

"Really?"

"Really!"

She then bent towards him ate the floss candy from his cheeks giving him a kiss in the process.

"I _loved_ it!"

"Hey!" cried Naruto mockingly "That's **my** floss candy! Give it back!"

He then hugged her and licked some of the candy from her lips.

"Naruto! We're in public!"

"So?"

Hinata smiled and took her boyfriend's hand once more. They went inside the stage and sat down in order to enjoy the performance.

Naruto was giddy all throughout the show. Hinata delighted in watching him smile and jump up and down his seat. She had to keep holding him in order to prevent him from falling down, he was _that_ excited.

Yes, she thought, this is _exactly_ what she needed right now.

"Oh! Oh! The star attraction of the show is about to start!"

"What is it?"

"It's a former student of Kankuro's! He is doing an entire act where he handles a multitude of puppets."

The word just echoed inside her mind, catching her completely by surprise.

 _'Puppets… Puppet… Puppet…'_

"Look at how he **controls** them! Look Hinata! Wow!"

Images started flooding Hinata's head. Her breathing became shallow, her heart starting beating faster, her chest was hurting, she was beginning to panic.

 _Her will is not her own, her body now fully belongs to him. She was once a woman but now she is nothing but a puppet._

"Look at that chakra string technique Hinata! He moves them around **like a boss!** "

 _She wants to resist his orders, she wants to fight back,, but she can't. She has no choice but to obey his orders._

"Hinata?"

 _Against her will, her hands move on their own and remove to top her mission gear. She is now standing in front of him completely topless._

"Hinata? What's wrong?"

 _She moves closer to him. She can feel his breath on her chest. She wants to run away as far as she can, but she can't. Her body now belongs to him._

"Hinata! Talk to me!"

 _He can feel his hands touching her. Touching her in places she never let another man touch before, not even the man she loved. The man he killed._

"Hinata! Please! Snap out of it!"

 _His touch makes her feel disgusted, both at him and herself. She wants to just scream…_

"NO! STOP! DON'T TOUCH ME! _**KEEP YOUR DAMNED HANDS OFF OF ME!**_ **"**

Naruto just stood there shocked at Hinata's outburst. What the hell was going on? Just a few minutes ago they were having the time of their lives and now she doesn't want to be near him? What did he do wrong?

He tried to place his hands around her to comfort her with a hug…

She just snatched them away and pushed him back.

"I… I need to go!"

"Hinata, please wait!"

She ran outside the Troupe stage and dashed towards the compound as fast as she could. She didn't want him to see her like this. She didn't want him to see her in tears….

...She didn't want him to see her break down.

She had hurt him **again**. She didn't mean to do it, but she did. His face when she shouted at him and pushed him back was the same as… **that time** …

...when she was forced to deny his love… when he nearly lost his life.

Completely full of despair and broken…

Just like her…

* * *

Naruto, knocked on the door of the Hyuga compound to find Hanabi glaring down at him.

She was **not** pleased to see him.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I… uh… I am looking for Hinata. Can I please talk to her?"

He saw Hanabi's veins bulge as she activated her byakugan.

"My sister went on a date with you, and now she is in tears! What did you do to her?"

"That's the thing! I don't know! Please! Let me talk to her!

Hanabi's fist glowed blue with chakra as she took a fighting stance.

"Hinata told me that she doesn't want to see you right now. Whatever it is you did to her, and believe me I will find out, hurt her badly. So... if you don't want to die here, I suggest you go away. **Now**!"

Naruto took a step back and turned around.

"Wise move. Just be thankful it wasn't my father who saw Hinata like this. He is not quite as _charitable_ as me."

He started heading home with a heavy heart, wondering where it all went south.

* * *

"Hey, sis."

"Hey, Hanabi."

"Naruto came to see you. I told him you didn't want to see him right now."

"Thank you."

"Among other things."

"Among... other... things?"

Hanabi put her arms around Hinata and squeezed in an effort to make her sister feel better.

"I don't care if he is the hero of the 4 nations. **Nobody** hurts my sister."

"It wasn't his fault Hanabi."

"Huh?!"

"I was just watching a show with him and I suddenly panicked."

"Why?"

Hinata struggled to talk. She needed to speak to someone. To tell somebody what she was going through. But Hanabi was just a kid. She didn't need to find out how her will was taken away from her…

...she didn't need to know how her body could have been touched against her will…

...she was only _14 years old…_

"It… It doesn't have to do with Naruto…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's… It's nothing you need to concern yourself about."

"Sis… please... _talk to me_. What's going on?"

"I said it's nothing you nees to concern yourself about! So please **just leave me alone!** "

Hanabi looked hurt as she got out of her sister's room. She nodded, took a court bow and closed the sliding door to Hinata's room.

"I am here if you want to talk, sis." she said sadly...And then she was gone.

Hinata lied on the bed and started crying. Not only had she hurt Naruto, she hurt her little sister too. She felt truly and utterly horrible.

* * *

The mind is funny thing. You think that you have full control of yourself, of how you think of how you react, of how your memories are stored. But your mind has "a mind of its own". It chooses how to absorb your environment, how to makes sense of things, it gives you _ideas_ , it calibrates your reactions. Ultimately, you are not in control of your mind, _your mind is in control of you…_

...and when emotional and personal trauma are involved, it can come up with horrors that makes the cruellest reality seem like a fairy tale.

* * *

 _She hears the sound of a gong in the distance. She walks into the altar dressed in a black wedding dress. The wedding ceremony is about to begin._

 _She can hear the sound of war in the distance. Somebody is outside trying to infiltrate the fortress. Could he still be… alive?_

 _She wants to run, she wants to join them, she wants to fight by their side._

 _But she can't. Right now she is nothing more than a puppet. Her will is not her own._

 _She takes his hand and walks her to the altar._

 _She doesn't want him near her. She doesn't want him touching her._

 _But her will is not her own._

 _She stands before the altar where a puppet-priest starts deciphering the words of the ceremony in a language that is too old for her to understand. She sees the man who destroyed everything, the man who took her sister's eyes put a wafer on his mouth and move downwards for her to eat it and give him a kiss._

 _She doesn't want to marry him. She doesn't want to kiss him._

 _"What do you think you are doing to Hinata?"_

 _His voice makes her heart flutter and fills her with hope and joy! He is still alive!_

 _" **You** again?"_

 _"Give Hinata back!"_

 _"You want her back? Fine... you can have her."_

 _She runs towards him and she is thrilled to have him close to her again, to see the light in his eyes once more. She wants to wrap her hands around him and tell him how sorry she was for rejecting him. That she has always loved him and will always love him until the end of time. She wants to give him a kiss and take away the pain that she has given him the past few days._

 _But she doesn't. Her will is no longer her own._

 _She throws a punch at him and he barely blocks it. She follows it with a roundhouse kick that her barely dodges._

 _"What's wrong with you Hinata?"_

 _She doesn't want to hurt him. She doesn't want to attack him. But she is not in control of herself now. She is nothing but a puppet._

 _"What do you think of my wife's combat skills?"_

 _She looks into his eyes when that man says the word "wife". There is a deep pain inside them as he is reminded of her betrayal once more. She wants to comfort him, to soothe him, to take that pain away._

 _Instead she keeps attacking. She keeps punching, she keeps kicking. She keeps hurting._

 _'Please! Fight back!' her mind screams at her 'Please! Stop me!'_

 _But he doesn't. He loves her too much to even lay a hand on her._

 _And this ends up hurting her more._

 _Her attacks start to connect. He doesn't block anymore. He doesn't dodge anymore. His face becomes bloodied and bruised. He is not reacting. He just stands there and takes it._

 _She can feel his blood soaking through her gloves. She can see the light in his eyes slowly fade. He is in pain. And this is killing her._

 _"Now, my Hinata. Finish this."_

 _She puts her arms around his neck and twists. She hears a sickening 'crack' as the man she loves keels down and falls. She sees the light in his eyes snuffed out. She can feel his precious life slip through her fingers as he starts to choke on his own blood._

 _She killed him! The man she loved! With her own hands! **She killed him**!_

 _"Hinata belongs to me now."_

 _She leaves his body on the floor and starts to walk towards the man who controls her. The man who took everything from her…_

 _...even her will._

 _"Now, where were we?"_

 _He puts the wafer on his mouth once more. She wants to cry, she wants to scream._

 _Instead she opens her own mouth accepting his kiss. There is nobody to stop him now._

 _As their lips connect, and their marriage is finalized her eyes turn to look at the dead body of the man she loved._

 _The man she **murdered**. Both emotionally and physically._

* * *

Naruto heard a knock on the door. He got up from his bed half-asleep. Who could it be this late at night?

He opened up his door and saw a familiar female figure in front of him.

"Hinata! What are you…"

She jumped on his arms and connected her lips to his. Her kiss was desperate and aggressive. She had to make sure that he was still here, that he was still alive. She had to make sure he still loved her after what she did to him. Her hands moved under his shirt all over her body. Her mouth moved from his mouth to his whiskers, then to his neck.

She wanted to feel him. She wanted to take all of him in.

A part of Naruto wanted this to go on. A part of him wanted Hinata to go further…

...But Hinata was not herself right now…

...and Naruto knew that if things did go further, if he took advantage of her like this, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"Hinata, stop."

She wasn't listening. She kept kissing, she kept rubbing her body against him. It was time for him to take drastic measures. He pushed her back and shook her.

"Hinata! I said **stop!** "

Hinata looked at him with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Na… Naruto-kun…"

"What's **wrong** with you, Hinata?"

"Please… _help me…_ "

He placed his arms around her and she collapsed into his arms. Tears and snot flowed gracelessly from her face. She buried her face inside his chest, placing her ears on his chest.

His heart was beating! His _precious wonderful heart_ was still beating! He was okay! He was alive!

She felt him planting soft kisses and caressing her hair. Her out-of-bed, messy hair.

He still cared for her! He still loved her!

She takes a whiff inside his chest, absorbing his smell. His natural smell. It becomes her air, her oxygen. It feels so intoxicating, so soothing. She could smell him forever.

"What's wrong Hinata?" he heard him say softly. "Talk to me..."

"I was a puppet, Naruto-kun! I was a puppet and I killed you!"

Naruto looked at her puzzled.

 _"What?_ "

"When I went into Toneri's castle, I tried to destroy the Tenseigan but Toneri caught me and placed some kind of Green orb inside me. I lost consciousness a little while after that. I don't remember what happened afterwards. All I know is that I woke up in your arms wearing a black wedding dress."

"Hinata…"

"I keep having those weird dreams. I dream of being a puppet and doing his bidding against my will. I dream of him undressing me, and touching me. They make me feel sick… And just a few hours ago, I dreamt I fought you and that I killed you!"

"Uh… This actually happened…"

"What?

"You actually fought me…"

Hinata gulped in shock. She was hoping this didn't actually happen.

"So… I really fought you…"

She squeezed him tighter and he held her closer.

"You didn't get to kill me though. I think I would have remembered **that**."

Hinata took a breath as she rubbed her cheek on his chest, finding comfort in his warmth. She desperately needed it right now.

"That's the thing Naruto-kun. I don't remember what happened. And because I don't remember, my mind plays tricks on me. I keep seeing dreams of what **I think** happened while I was under the jutsu's influence."

Naruto gently rocked Hinata in his arms. He wanted to offer her comfort, to heal her pain, to lift her spirits…

...the same way she always did when he needed her…

But how could he help? He wasn't much good with words, and he really didn't know how he could possibly make her feel better.

He felt so useless… There was nothing he could do for her.

But _somebody else_ could.

An idea formed on his head...

"Hinata… If you actually knew what happened… Would it actually help?"

Hinata thought about this and replied.

"Yes, because then I would be able to deal with it and move on. As things stand I can't tell what's real and what's not, and it's driving me **crazy**."

Naruto nodded in understanding. He knew _exactly_ what to do now…

"Hinata… please stand back…"

"Naruto, what are you going to…"

She saw him go into a corner, move into a meditative position and close his eyes. He soon started glowing with yellowish red chakra. His whiskers became wider and his teeth grew sharper. The air around her became more dense as she felt the power flowing inside him.

When he opened his eyes again, she knew that she was no longer looking at Naruto.

"The brat told me that you need my help?"

The voice was deep and booming. It had an air of authority and power to it, but she felt no malice and no ill-intent from it.

"Kurama?"

"I have once seen you briefly on the moon. The brat seemed to be getting very attached to you. I was actually looking forward to finally meet you one of these days."

"Why?"

"Us bijuu are empaths. Our host's emotional state affects us directly. And things are more pleasant for me, ever since you became a bigger part in Naruto's life."

Hinata couldn't help but smile at Kurama's statement.

"Really?"

"Really. You mean more to my host than anybody else. You are truly irreplaceable to him…"

Kurama reminded himself that he was here to do a job, not make small talk.

"The brat told me that you had a lapse in memory?"

"Yes" Hinata said as she nodded at the creature "A jutsu was placed on me, and I can't remember what happened from the moment it was placed on me, to the moment it was dispelled. Can you make me remember?"

Kurama in Naruto's body nodded.

"If it's because of a jutsu, then, yes, I can."

"How?"

"You are going to place your palms on mine, and my chakra will flow inside you. I will then find any traces of the jutsu that was placed on you and cleanse it restoring any memories that were repressed by it in the process. You and me will then witness those memories directly."

Hinata kneeled before Kurama and placed her palms on top of Naruto's own.

"Please do it."

"Are you sure? Recovering repressed memories can be dangerous. You might not like what you find in them."

"It's worse not remembering and making things up."

"As you wish."

A sudden concern crossed Hinata's.

"Kurama-kun, before we start can I ask something?"

Kurama was surprised by the sudden addition of the honorific to his name. He had to admit he quite liked it though…

"What is it, byakugan-princess?"

Hinata smiled at the name Kurama had given her. Kurama felt a sudden warmth and understood why Naruto cherished this woman more than anything else.

"Just Hinata will do… You and Naruto-kun are connected, right?"

"Yes, so?"

"If you see my memories… Will he also see them?"

Kurama shook his head.

"I am now a completely separate entity than my host. He won't be able to see your memories, unless I decide to show them to him."

"Will you… show him?"

A big grin formed on Kurama's face.

"No… No matter how much he begs me, I won't."

Hinata smiled in relief as she held Naruto's hands tighter.

"Thank you."

Reddish Chakra flowed inside her as Kurama began the restoration process. For a while chakra flowed and nothing happened. Hinata started feeling at ease.

And then her mind **exploded**.

* * *

 _She stands on display right next to a couple of puppets. She is now one of them. The man who took everything from her has just finished his tea and looks at her in delight._

 _"You are finally mine, Hinata. You will never betray me again."_

 _He lifts her down from the display and places her right in front of him._

 _"You belong to me now... my Hinata..."_

 _She is nothing but an object now. Nothing but a puppet._

 _That's what he really wanted after all… **a puppet.**_

 _"Now… show yourself to me."_

 _Her hands slowly move the zipper of her mission gear jacket downwards. It stands there dangling as her hands move to remove it._

 _"No!" he commands. "Let **me** do it!"_

 _She moves towards him mechanically. Her will is no longer her own. She can't resist him, she can't fight back. She stands right in front of him. His hands move closer…_

 _...and then his eyes notice a big scar on her lower abdomen._

 ** _"What the hell is this?"_**

 _His hand glows green as an orb morphs on his hands. He places it near the scar, and a series of images appear before him._

 _He sees the man he saw inside her memories before, at a much younger age, impaled to the ground by an unknown man in a black uniform with red clouds. He sees his precious future-wife jump inside the fray, throwing a big punch that the unknown man barely dodges. He then sees her stand in front of the unknown man ready to fight.  
_

 _"I am not afraid to die here!" he hears her say "If it means I can protect you…"_

 _"Because… **I love you…** I always will…"_

 _He doesn't finish the rest of the memory. He crashes the orb in his hand, and screams in anger._

 _"You did **this** … For him?"_

 _She just stands there silently, not responding. She is nothing but a puppet now._

 _He throws his tea-table on the other side of the room. He begins smashing doors, breaking vases, reacting like a spoiled kid who just got his big prize taken away._

 _She keeps standing there impassionately._

 _"My Hinata… is **tainted**!"_

 _One of the puppets intervenes._

 _"Toneri-sama. Calm down. We will be able to remove the scar once the two of you enter the hibernation chamber, and your bodies enter the restoration process."_

 _"Arrange to do so…" he says as he begins to leave the room in disgust._

 _"Start preparing her for our marriage, and don't let me see her until the ceremony begins…"_

 _"As you wish Toneri-sama."_

 _"I want Hinata to **belong** to me… and **only** me…"_

 _The door closed and the puppets take her away to wash her and dress her up._

 _Once she is ready, she stays in the dark until a gong is heard and she begins walking a long hallway. Her marriage is about to begin._

 _The man she loves shows up and interrupts the ceremony._

 _She is ordered to fight him._

 _And the man she loves sets her free._

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes to see Kurama sport a big smile on her face.

"So, it was you back then, who nearly set me free. The one whose loss nearly broke my chains."

Hinata didn't respond.

Instead she moved her hand downwards and touched her scar. The sacrifice she had made for him on that day had protected her. It had shielded her from a truly terrible fate.

She rubbed her scar affectionately, as if it was a living being, as if she wanted to thank it.

"I guess there's nothing more I can do for you right now. I will give control back to the brat now."

"Thank you Kurama-kun!" she said as she hugged the fox inside her boyfriend's body "Thanks to you, I can finally be at peace."

"You are more than welcome" the fox replied. "Farewell... Byakugan-princess."

She gave the fox a soft kiss on its whiskers and smiled warmly.

"I told you to just call me Hinata."

Then and there, Kurama decided that it quite liked the little woman and that it would do anything in its power to protect her.

* * *

Naruto's eyes turned blue once more.

"Did he touch you?" was the first thing that he asked.

"Who? Kurama or Toneri?"

Naruto was caught off-guard by her question.

"Uh… both I guess."

'Kurama-kun was a perfect gentleman err… gentlefox… gentlesomething. And as for Toneri…"

She thought how she would phrase this. She didn't want Naruto to find out about her scar. At least, not before they actually got intimate.

"He didn't do anything _more objectionable_ to me."

"So I don't have to get Kurama to fly me on the moon so that I can kick his ass?"

Hinata chuckled.

"Can Kurama-kun actually do that?"

"Well… I'll probably get an earful from him if I ask him that. And… hey… wait a second, _'Kurama-kun'_? Since when did you two become so chummy?"

She slipped inside his arms once more and gave him a soft smile easing his worries.

"You foxy friend is a real sweet-heart."

"Really? _Kurama_?"

"Mmm-hmm..."

The two stayed in a warm embrace, cherishing the time they were spending with each other. It had been an emotionally draining day and all they wanted right now was to just relax and find comfort in each other.

Hinata decided to finally open up fully. To trust him with her pain, the same way he has always trusted her with his.

"I was conscious for a while."

"What did you say Hinata?"

"I said that from the time Toneri put his jutsu inside me until the moment when everything went dark and he took over my body, I was conscious."

"You were…"

"I didn't know you were going to save me back then. _I didn't even know if you were alive_. All I knew was that the world was about to end because I had failed. and that my body would soon belong to the man who had taken away my sister's eyes. The man who destroyed everything I cared about. The man who almost killed you."

Naruto held her tighter. Up until now, he had never considered the pain Hinata must have gone through, how she must have suffered.

"And I wanted to weep, I wanted to scream, I wanted to throw up but I couldn't. I was becoming a puppet and I knew full well what was going to happen to me afterwards. What he would do to me. And it absolutely horrified me."

Her tears were soaking through his pyjamas, but he didn't care. Right now Hinata needed to cry, to finally let her pain out.

"But the most painful part was knowing that I had hurt you. It was believing that you had died thinking that I had betrayed you. That my heart now belonged to someone else. That I had stopped loving you."

She looked at him once more.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun! I never stopped loving you! I never wanted to hurt you! I…"

She felt his lips on her once more. Her face was full of snot and tears but he didn't care. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her.

"Hinata, I told you back then too… **I am** the one who should apologize."

"Naruto-kun…"

"I was so happy that we finally became a couple, I was having such a wonderful time being with you, that it didn't occur to me how much that mission must have hurt you, how it must have been eating you up inside. _Some_ boyfriend I am, huh?"

Hinata kissed him back and rested her face on her chest once more.

"You are doing _fine_ Naruto-kun. I should have spoken to you about this sooner."

They both remained silent enjoying each other's presence.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go up on the moon and kick Toneri's ass again?"

"That won't be necessary" chortled Hinata.

"Would you like me to escort you home? It's late and your family will worry when they open up your room in the morning and don't find you there."

"Sure… just.. not now… Lets just stay like this for a little longer."

They both closed their eyes and fell asleep shortly afterwards..

Hinata didn't go back to the compound that night.

The pain of the moon mission would be something that would take time to heal, but at least now, she knew that she had Naruto with her. That he understood her and that she could trust him with her pain the same way he always trusted her with his. With Naruto by her side Hinata felt like she could overcome _anything_.

* * *

 _Next morning at the Hyuga Compound..._

Hanabi was busy setting up a transformed shadow-clone inside Hinata's bed.

"Remember, if anybody asks you, it's 'that time of the month' and you need to lie in bed because you are feeling a bit under the weather, you got that?"

The transformed shadow-clone did a 'thumbs up' sign.

"You owe me **BIG** time for this, sis."

* * *

 **Side Story: The scar she wouldn't heal.**

* * *

 _Three years ago…_

Hinata was lying inside a futon with Sakura standing on top of her. Her hands were glowing with chakra as she was healing the injuries she had sustained during the Pein Invasion. It moved inside Hinata's body, healing the damaged internal tissue and preventing any internal hemorrhaging she might have sustained.

 _'Pein missed her vital organs by a few inches'_ she lamented _'if the stab wound was just a little bit higher, she would be...'_

She smiled at the lavender-eyed girl, who softly smiled back.

In the end, when push came to shove, she was the **only** one who came to Naruto's aid, the only one who rushed to his side when it seemed that he had lost, when he was about to be taken away.

' _ **I** should have been the one who should have been by his side. I am supposed to be his freaking **team-mate**. I was treating Tsunade at the time of course, but still…"_

Her hands moved upwards, just a few inches above her skin.

"All right! I am done fixing your internal injuries. I am now going to heal your scar tissue, so that it won't show."

"Sakura?" she asked her with a raspy voice "Can I ask you something weird?"

"What?"

"The scar… Could you please leave it on me?"

Sakura looked at her in disbelief.

"Why would you actually want to _keep_ a scar? Especially one as big as this one?"

Hinata took the pink-haired kunoichi's hand and squeezed it.

" **Please** … I want that scar to stay with me for as long as I live."

"You won't be able to wear a bikini again, you know."

"I prefer to wear one-pieces anyway."

Sakura sighed and got up. If Hinata didn't want her to do the extra work and heal the scar tissue, she wasn't going to insist. She exited the room and gestured to Neji that he could see Hinata now.

He went inside her room, sat beside her futon and held her hand.

"How are you feeling Hinata-sama?"

"I am feeling a lot better Neji-niisan. My wounds are healing nicely. I am going to return to the field in about a week or so."

Neji looked concerned.

"You know, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Sakura. Why are you letting that scar on you? Why don't you just let the medics heal it?"

"I told him I **love** him. Neji."

Hinata's words boomed like a bomb inside his head.

"You did _what_?"

"I told him I loved him. I don't know if he understands what sort of love I have for him and I don't know if I he will ever be able to love me back the way I love him, but I finally told him."

"And that's the reason you want to keep that scar?"

She put her free hand on her chest and squeezed her blanket.

"I used my body to protect him. I _gave myself_ to him, Neji-niisan. And I want **his** **mark** to stay on me for as long as live."

Neji didn't say anything, instead opting to accept her choice and nod his head.

 _'So... she loves him. She doesn't just like him. She doesn't just admire him. She **loves** him. She is willing to put her life on the line to protect him. _She is willing to **die** for him. _ Even though she thinks that he doesn't feel the same way. Even though she thinks he doesn't care about her…_

 _... **But he does.** He cares for her more than she realizes.'_

Neji had read the invasion files a few days ago. He had learned that, right after Hinata was injured, Naruto lost control of the Kyubi. Hinata affected him emotionally to the point where seeing her get hurt made him nearly fully unleash the demon fox and destroy everything.

' _So, she is willing to die for him, and he is willing to give up on everything and destroy himself if anything happens to her. Both of them want to protect the other, and one can not bear to live without the other. As Shikamaru would say, this is a very 'troublesome' situation.'_

At that moment, Neji made a silent vow: If at any point _any_ of them was in danger he would do everything in his power to protect them. Even at the cost of his own life.

Naruto was the one who freed him from the chains of fate...

Hinata was his precious family...

He wouldn't allow **either** of them to die.


	7. The Strongest Kunoichi

**Well, after the darkness that was my last prompt I figured I would try something shorter, lighter and fluffier. I hope you will still enjoy it.**

* * *

"Dialogue"

 _'Thoughts'_

 ** _'Kurama'_**

* * *

4-year-old Boruto was staring at the little baby that was currently sleeping in **his** crib…

She had taken over the attention of **his** parents, the attention of their friends, she had taken (some of) **his** old toys, and now she was sleeping soundly in the place where he used to sleep right next to them.

Meanwhile, he had to sleep someplace strange that **his** parents named "your room" which was filled with **his** stuff and lie in a bed that was currently too big for him to feel comfortable in. There were times when he would wake up and nobody would be there to comfort him…

...and it was all _her_ fault!

"I know what your game is…" he told the little creature.

It all clicked the other day when his father was playing with her.

"Oh! Your father is hurt, Himawari!" he said with a smile. "You better heal him!"

The little baby just munched on his shirt and rubbed her face on it.

"Yes! I can feel my strength returning! You truly are Konoha's strongest Kunoichi!"

Little Boruto was feeling a bit left out and he couldn't help but notice the word that **his** father had just said.

"Daddy, what is a 'kunoichi'?"

"A kunoichi is a shinobi, like pappa, except she is a woman."

"What's a 'woman'?"

Naruto was stumped. How would be go about explaining this sort of thing to a four-year old?

"Err… you know… like your mother… and aunt Kurenai…"

"Like aunt Kurenai?"

"Uh… yeah…"

Little Boruto's mind went back to the last time **his** parents left him with aunt Kurenai. Apparently, they had to go to a place called a "hoss-pee-tall" and they had to leave him there for a few hours.

Little Boruto _loved_ going to aunt Kurenai.

He liked going to aunt Hanabi and going on walks with grandpa Hiashi, but aunt Kurenai and auntie Mirai were much more _fun_ to be around. They always played some interesting stuff with him and last time aunt Kurenai showed him a very interesting genjutsu which involved a cat chasing a mouse around a house.

He always wondered how the mouse could hold the frying pan in its hand and hit the cat…

His auntie Kurenai had explained to him what a "genjutsu" was. It was her making him see something that wasn't real, and that originated from her imagination. Genjutsu were commonly used to captivate and confuse "enemies" (he didn't know what the word meant, he would have to ask pappa later), but they could be used for fun too.

When he saw little Himawari handle **his** father, putting her little arms around him and tickling him, he finally got it…

...little Himawari was casting a genjutsu on both **his** mama and **his** papa. She was winning them over and taking his parents love away from him…

He walked over to **his** father.

"Daddy… Do you love Himawari more than me now?"

Naruto looked at his four-year-old son curiously. He wondered what brought that on. Sure, he paid some extra attention to Himawari, she was less than a year old after all, but it's not like he neglected Boruto. He still took him out for walks, he still played ninja with him, he still read him bedtime stories.

"No! Of course not! Just because I am paying a little more attention to your little sister doesn't mean that I stopped loving you!"

"Really?"

Naruto gestured to his son to come closer.

"Boruto, do you see the fingers on my hand?"

"Yeah…"

"If I bite this finger it's going to hurt right?"

"Yeah…"

"And if I bite _that_ finger it's still going to hurt, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Both fingers hurt the same, both fingers are a part of me. Himawari and you are both parts of me, you are both my children. How can I possibly love you more than your little sister?"

"I don't get it…"

The father sighed. He had read the finger parable in one of Sai's books about parenting. It was supposed to be one of the standard answers he was supposed to give when a child asks if you love their sibling more than them. The book hadn't explained anything more than that though.

"Look, I love you and your sister equally and nothing will change that, all right?"

"All right…" the little boy had said…

...but he knew the truth. **His** father was under a genjutsu casted by his little sister. He was currently under its influence and he wasn't making any sense because of it.

"Who's a cute little baby? _You_ are a cute little baby! Yes, you! Goochi-goochie-goo!"

The little baby giggled making his father go into hysterics. She had complete and utter control over him. She played with him…

...the way he used to play with him…

Boruto didn't utter a word to anybody for about a week. Himawari had completely taken over his parent's lives with her crying and her giggling and her pooping. It was like he didn't exist at all for them. They played with him, they read him stories, but he didn't say a word back to them the entire time.

What was the point? They were completely under Himawari's control after all…

He kept looking at the sleeping baby.

"I know what your game is, and just so you know, I don't like you at all…"

Little Himawari opened up her eyes and looked at him. And then she started wailing.

"Hmph! Looks like you don't like me at all either. _Good_."

"Nonsense, Boruto! Himawari doesn't have a sense of 'like' and 'dislike' yet, it's just her feeding time."

He turned around to see his mother rush inside the room and pick up little Himawari. She lowered her blouse and started breastfeeding her. The baby calmed down almost immediately.

Boruto turned around to leave the room.

"No Boruto, _stay_. I want you to see something."

"What?"

" _Look_ at your little sister."

Boruto looked at the little baby as she gorged herself on her mother's milk. She looked so peaceful, so calm, so content.

"Little Hima doesn't have a 'game' she's playing. She is just a little baby. She can't take care of herself and she needs us to take care of her. That's all there is to it."

"So, she is not a kunoichi?"

"No, she is too small to even walk, where did you get that idea?"

"Well, when dad plays with her, he calls her that."

"Dad is dad, I guess. It's his style of play, he likes to be silly and pretend."

The baby finished eating and Hinata wiped her breast and upped her blouse once more.

"Say, Boruto, would do something for me?"

"What, mom?"

"Hold little Hima for me."

"M-me? Hold her?"

Hinata placed the baby's head right next to Boruto's and held it against him.

"Put your right arm like this to hold her head steady and hold her body like this."

He felt something really weird when he held her. Something warm and fuzzy.

 _'Oh, no!_ ' he thought _'I am falling under the genjutsu's influence too!'_

Hinata tapped the baby on its back lightly until it burped. Little Hima then rubbed her little face against Boruto and started suckling on his neck, filling it with baby saliva.

"Ew! Gross!"

"Heheh! It seems like little Hima likes you a lot Boruto."

Boruto felt the warm, fuzzy feeling get stronger. This wasn't a genjutsu, this was something else. Something completely different. It felt soft and it felt nice.

"You haven't had a chance to hold your sister until now, have you Boruto?"

He decided to give up. To give in to that warm, fuzzy feeling that was overtaking him. He held little Himawari's head carefully and looked at her smiling face.

He couldn't resist the urge to give her a little kiss on the cheeks.

His mother was wrong. **His** sister was indeed the strongest Kunoichi in all of Konoha. She managed to win him over without even saying a word to him, just by being herself. And he would gladly go to the ends of the earth just to keep her smiling.

* * *

 _One year later_

Naruto smiled as he saw Boruto and Himawari happily playing with each other. Little Boruto was holding little Hima's hand and guiding her through her first steps. She placed her on top of his special toy bike, the bike that his parent's had originally brought for him and pushed her forward.

Little Hima was too small for her feet to reach the petals but she could steer quite nicely…

...better than Boruto at that age at least.

The father allowed himself a moment to relax and enjoy the spectacle in front of kids were incredibly cute and he enjoyed spending time with them.

Him… with kids… who would have ever thought?

The stress of the past week started catching up on him and he started feeling sleepy…

 _'Kurama? Could you do me a favor?'_

 ** _'Tell me the favor first.'_**

 _'I need to rest a bit, could you look after the kids for me for an hour or so?'_

 ** _'With pleasure.'_**

Naruto nodded off and started sleeping.

He was woken up by a sharp pain on his hand.

"OUCH! WHAT THE HECK?!"

He noticed that two of his fingers were bitten. He looked downwards to see Boruto and Himawari smiling at him.

"What's the big idea here? Why did you bite me?"

"We just wanted to see who you love the best, so we bit your fingers at the same time to see whose bite hurts the most."

"Whose bite hurts the most?"

"Yeah, the one whose bite hurts the most is the one you love the best. So, which bite hurts more?"

Naruto took a look at his fingers. They were both beginning to swell.

"They **both** hurt pretty badly, geez!"

He made a dash towards the kitchen and started looking for the first aid kit.

"Looks like pappa really loves us equally, Hima!"

The little baby girl nodded and gave her brother a tiny thumbs up.

Meanwhile Naruto had found the first aid kit and started applying some antiseptic on his fingers. It _stung_!

He turned his attention to Kurama who was currently laughing in the mindscape.

 _'You actually let them do this to me? You were supposed to look after them!'_

 ** _'They weren't endangering their lives and I thought that it was cute."_**

 _'You thought that it was cute?'_

 ** _'Hey, I may be a chakra entity that has fought and killed countless of shinobi, but even I can't resist a cute baby's smile.'_**

The father started applying some bandages.

 _'Aren't you supposed to heal me?'_

 ** _'Nah, I think I am going to let you carry your children's "love" a little bit more.'_**

 _'You are going to pay for this! I don't know how but you will!'_

The fox bijuu snickered and disappeared in the mindscape while Naruto stared blankly at his bandaged fingers…

...One of these days he was going to have a word with Sai about those books he had given him.


	8. Please Forgive Me

**Day 3: Of NaruHina Week: "I'm Sorry"**

 **Well, there is one instance where I believe Naruto should apologize to Hinata.**

The night felt cold on his skin… A lot colder than what he was expecting… His feet could barely lift his weight as he carried himself home at a non-leisurely pace.

The way back home was something that he normally transversed with speed and ease. Normally he would jump from roof to roof and dash towards his wife's loving embrace…

But not this time…

This time he _dreaded_ returning home…

The memories of the last dissipated shadow clone played back inside his head. He could remember everything clearly…

The joy and happiness in his children's faces as he walked inside his house and greeted him.

The loving smile on his wife's face as she watched him decorate his daughter's birthday cake...

The songs of celebration as he carried his daughter's birthday cake on the table…

And then that look on everyone's faces as his shadow clone disappeared and the birthday cake fell down on the house floor.

 _How could he do this to his own freaking family?_

Did his own family mean so little to him that he couldn't be bothered to show up himself? Did his own children not deserve to have their own father present on one of their most important days of the year? Did his wife not deserve to have him by her side as she celebrated the joyous occasion of giving birth to one of his children?

Tears welled up in his eyes…

He couldn't bring himself to close them… That final image the shadow clone transmitted was burned inside his mind. It plagued him, it haunted him. The look of shock on Boruto's face, the sadness of Himawari's features…

…The disappointment reflected on Hinata's expression…

That was what stung the most. She was his most precious friend, his wife, his lover. She loved him, she gave him a family, she took care of his home. She looked after the kids while he was at work. She offered him a warm embrace, and a comforting word whenever he went back to her. The mere thought that he had let her down…

What was he supposed to tell her?

That he was taking care of the chuunin exams? That he had information about an extra-dimensional threat that he needed to look into as soon as possible? That he had to…

That was just it, wasn't it? He always had _something_ that kept him occupied inside his office. There was _always_ some threat, some issue to he needed to address. It never _freaking_ ended!

Why did he want to become the Hokage again?

Because he wanted to be acknowledged by the village. Throughout the years, he fought tooth and nail to prove to everyone that he was a person worthy of recognition and respect. He forged friendships, he went on missions, he fought wars, he risked his life for others…

…and all throughout the years there was _one_ person who acknowledged him from the start. Who simply gave him her love, and her respect without asking for _anything_ in return…

…who actually risked _her_ life for him…

…and he had let her down…

 _How could he do this to her?!_

He saw her on the living room, cleaning up what was left of Himawari's birthday party. The confetti, the ribbons and the birthday cake were all collected into the dustbin, and she was mopping the floor off the whipped cream's remains.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back."

His heart sank as he heard her voice. It normally sounded so cheerful and warm. So upbeat and happy. But now it sounded strained and hoarse. As if…

...as if she was crying for hours.

The only time he had heard her voice like this was right after…

…Neji's funeral…

Oh **damn**.

"Where are the kids?"

"They are upstairs. They are both asleep."

He took off his hokage robe and got ready to place it on the coat stand.

"Let me take that, it seems dirty. It probably needs to get cleaned."

She approached him and took the robe off his hands. Her face was facing the floor. Her movements were cold and mechanical. She then turned his back on him and placed the robe inside the laundry basket…

…she didn't face him once…

Naruto couldn't bear this anymore.

"Look Hinata I'm…"

"I knew it wasn't you back then…"

"What?"

"I can tell you apart from your shadow clones remember?"

Naruto scratched his head. He had forgotten that Hinata could actually do that. That she had such a strong connection to him, she could tell when the original Naruto was near her.

How could he be so **stupid?**

"I pretended that you had actually shown up. I acted as if that was really you decorating the cake and playing with the children. I couldn't let them find out. **For Kami's sake Naruto** , _what the hell was I supposed to tell them?_ "

Naruto froze when he heard that. Normally Hinata addressed him as "Naruto-Kun". She was normally polite and soft spoken whenever she addressed him. She only dropped the honorific whenever things got serious. When she was not simply addressing "Naruto-kun" but rather her husband and father of her children.

The fact that she not only dropped the honorific but also used the word 'hell'...

"That their father sent a shadow clone in his stead? That he didn't care enough about them to actually come in person to his own child's birthday?"

Her voice choked as she was holding back her tears. She didn't want to cry again.

Naruto approached his wife slowly. He wanted to wrap his arms around her. But Hinata seemed so fragile right now. He was afraid that touching her might send her over the edge.

"And then your shadow clone disappeared and the cake fell on the floor. Himawari started crying and Boruto got angry. He started saying that you never keep you promises and that you don't care about your own family. That you only care about your stupid job."

Naruto saw the the hokage's robe on the laundry basket getting soaked with her tears. She could no longer hold them back.

"I tried defending you. To make up excuses for you. I tried telling him that you are a busy man, and that you are doing your best for your village and for everyone who lives inside it."

She was now benched over the laundry her arms wiping tears from her eyes while trying hopelessly to regain her composure.

"You know what he told me back then? That 'everyone in the village' seemed to not include them. That if things were to be like this, with you not showing up and being there for your children then perhaps it would have been better if you were just _absent from the start._ "

Naruto felt as if a chidori had hit him in the chest…

… He had really messed up this time…

"How could you do this to them Naruto? To _us_?"

Her words felt like a slap on the face. Indeed how could he do this? Sure, there were a million things he needed to look after at work, some really pressing matter he had to take care of, but what sort of father sent a shadow clone to his own daughter's birthday? What sort of father didn't _make time_ for his own family?

There was only one thing he could say.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

He kneeled down placing his hands on the laundry basket and bought his face down to hers. He really wanted her to know that he meant what he said.

"I got carried away at work, I didn't arrange my time correctly and and I messed up. I'm really sorry."

"Naruto, please get up."

"No, I deserve to be like this. I have failed you, and I have failed my kids. I am a failure as a husband and as a parent."

He buried his face inside the laundry basket. He couldn't bring himself to face her. To look into her eyes and see the sadness and disappointment inside them.

"I am sorry. Please forgive me. Please don't hate me. Please..."

He stopped as her felt her hands on his shoulder and her lips on his hair. He heard her voice, still sad, still hoarse, but always warm, breeze past his cold cheeks. Like a soft glimmer of sunshine.

"How could I ever hate you for failing, Naruto?"

She placed both her hands against his broad shoulders. He returned the favour by embracing her and placing his head on her chest. He needed to feel her warmth, to inhale her scent. To know that she was still with him.

"I told you once before, right? **You are a proud failure.** You are not perfect. You make mistakes. And sometimes those mistakes hurt the people you love the most."

He sat down on the floor and placed her body on his lap, his head still below hers. He wanted to be close to her. Her body felt so soothing. Like sunshine after the rain.

"When I look at you, I still get this intense feeling on my chest. I am still in love with you. This will never change. No matter how many mistakes you make. "

She placed a soft kiss on his cheek as he softly cradled her. Her cheeks felt moist and warm against his.

"But it's not just me and you anymore, Naruto. Both Boruto and Himawari are young. Boruto is now a teenager, he is at that impressionable age. If you are not there for him, to guide him as a father, who knows what sort of mistakes he is going to make? What sort of wrong paths he is going to take?"

Naruto cradled his beautiful wife like the precious gem that she really was. He knew she was right. That he had to make things right somehow.

"How am I ever going to fix this, Hinata?"

His wife allowed herself to melt inside his arms. She snuggled him and caressed him, her body fitting into his like a perfect puzzle piece. She made him whole, she was his light in the dark, his hope in times of despair.

"I don't know. But I know that the man I fell in love with, will never stop trying. That he will eventually find a way."

The seventh Hokage finally found the strength to look into his wife's eyes. To his amazement, there wasn't any resentment or anger, just a look of love and expectation.

"You **will** find a way, won't you?"

He winked at her and smiled like he had all those years ago during his own chuunin exams. Her heart couldn't help but skip a bit. Even after all those years, even after he became the Hokage, Naruto was still essentially the same kid she fell in love with all those years ago.

"I will, or I will die trying. And I will never go back on this. Because it's our ninja way."

Naruto kissed kissed his wife's cheeks, still red and puffy from all that crying and rubbed her nose with his. He then wiped the snot off of it with his thumb and looked deeply inside her beautiful lavender eyes.

She was his sanctuary, his salvation, his **home.**

"I love you. I missed you."

"Me too."

Hinata saw her husband raise his fist in the air, like he always used to back in their younger days.

"I will go talk to Boruto as soon I see him. _By myself_. Not by a shadow clone. And we will attend his chuunin exams _together_ , side by side with Himawari, like a family. All together. What do you think?"

"I think it's a good start."

He got up from the floor and started carrying her.

"I think I can carry myself."

"Uh-uh, after tonight's event I have to spoil you."

"Suit yourself."

The tired husband felt his wife's lips on his. The kiss started soft, but got progressively bolder, the nearer they got to the bedroom. All those feelings that they had for each other, those feelings of love, of passion, those feelings that they repressed due to their obligations and social standing were surfacing again. Right now they weren't the Seventh Hokage and his spouse, they were Naruto and Hinata, two people who were still in love with one another.

They had missed each other so much...

"Welcome back Naruto-kun…"

"I'm **home**."

 **In the Boruto movie, after the "Birthday Cake Incident" we see Naruto actively trying to be a better father to Boruto. He goes to talk to him by himself instead of just sending a shadow clone and he attends the chuunin exams with Hinata and Himawari, instead leaving a shadow clone to accompany the Kage. My guess is that after Himawari's birthday he recognized that he needed to be there a bit more for his family. This is my interpretation of how he decided to do that.**

 **Hinata being able to separate the original Naruto from his Shadow Clones is a headcanon I had that I used my smutty "Game of Clones" fanfic. Originally, I was going to discard it, but then I thought that it would be more dramatic if Hinata actually knew that Naruto had sent a clone and actually went with it in order to not hurt Boruto and Himawari…**

 **...That and I can't let a good headcanon go!**

 **It seems I missed the "Fireworks" prompt… I couldn't make up a good story for it, sorry...**


End file.
